Lawmaker floored by horrifying conditions inside notorious ICE facility: 'Deep breach'

A Democratic Senator revealed the horrifying conditions inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark, New Jersey, during a new interview with Mother Jones.

Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) visited ICE's Delaney Hall over the weekend, where he was given a guided tour of the facility. Inside, Kim said he witnessed women trying to get one of their friends help while the person was having a medical episode. Kim added that the guards at the facility seem to have little regard for the rights of the immigrants who are locked up there.

“They refused to let me talk to any detainees,” Kim told Mother Jones as he exited Delaney Hall. “They told me that if I were to speak to any detainees, the oversight tour would immediately be cut off and stopped. This is impeding my ability to lawfully do the oversight that I’m legally allowed to do, and I told them I thought this was a deep breach of my responsibilities and what the American people are demanding.”

The scene in the women's unit seemed to stick with Kim as well.

“They’re just frantic and waving and pointing, and I saw the woman curled up on the bed. I asked, ‘What is happening here?’" Kim said, adding that the guards didn’t answer.

He added that people who have been moved to medical units have no way of contacting their families and loved ones. ICE won't share their location either, citing security concerns.

“They aren’t telling her family where she is, which hospital she’s in. They’re saying it’s a security problem,” Kim said. “Can you imagine if your loved one was in a hospital and you don’t know what hospital they’re in, and then you’re told to just file some bureaucratic papers, and cross your fingers that they’re going to get back to you?”