Video Aims to Set Record Straight on Conditions at ICE Illegal-Alien Detention Facilities

Immigration and Customs Enforcement illegal-alien detention facility standards “are among the highest in the nation,” the agency insists.  

Images of a library, a doctor’s office, a gym with kids playing dodgeball, and a clean cafeteria are featured in a new video ICE released Thursday touting the conditions of illegal-alien detention facilities in the U.S.

“Democrats and the mainstream media love to spread lies about ICE detention facilities, but this video shows the truth: ICE detention facilities have the highest standards,” Abigail Jackson, White House spokeswoman, told The Daily Signal.

ICE detention facilities “are safe, clean, and hold illegal aliens who are awaiting final removal proceedings,” Jackson added. “The mainstream media shouldn’t be so quick to believe lies from criminal illegal aliens complaining about ICE facilities when we can all see the truth.”

On Monday, NBC News ran a story with the headline, “Immigrants in overcapacity ICE detention say they’re hungry, raise food-quality concerns.” The New York Times reported on July 1: “Mass immigration arrests have led to overcrowding in detention facilities, with reports of unsanitary and inhumane conditions.” In June, NPR ran a story highlighting claims of overcrowding and a lack of food at detention facilities.

“We do have the highest detention standards out of any other prison system here in the United States,” Todd Lyons, acting ICE director, says in the video released on the social media platform X.  

“ICE does not detain punitively,” according to Lyons. “We detain to remove people. We don’t want to have people in custody,” the acting director explained, adding that because of the high cost of detention, it is the goal of ICE to quickly and safely return illegal aliens to their home countries.  

“ICE has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons that hold actual U.S. citizens,” Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, said in a statement.  

Illegal immigrants in detention facilities “are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with lawyers and their family members,” McLaughlin added.   

Detainees are provided medical care, according to the DHS assistant secretary, including mental health screenings and dental care within 12 hours of arriving at an ICE facility. They also receive “a full health assessment” in the first two weeks of their detention and have access to 24-hour emergency care.  

“Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE,” McLaughlin said.  

Since the start of the Trump administration’s second term, more than 273,000 illegal aliens have been arrested and over 239,000 have been deported, according to the DHS. Because the deportation process takes time to carry out, and legal challenges to deportations have further slowed removals, DHS is operating multiple detention facilities to house illegal aliens until they can be removed from the U.S.  

In early July, the Trump administration opened a new detention facility in the Florida Everglades commonly referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz.” A bipartisan group of lawmakers toured the large facility on July 12.

“It’s gross and disgusting,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said of the facility.  

“What I saw made my heart sink,” Frost said, describing what he called “cages,” each holding 32 illegal aliens. According to Frost, the detainees were not getting enough food, “being fed, essentially, a small sandwich and a bag of chips.” 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, was critical of Democrats in Florida who are speaking out against the facility.  

“They want to basically put the thumb on the scale for folks here illegally to just stay in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said, questioning why some Democrats in his state are “fighting for foreign nationals that came into the country illegally.”