Overview
- Three Democratic House members said a Thursday night unannounced tour found rooms posted for about 21–24 people holding roughly 40–50, with detainees lying on concrete and sharing a single open toilet.
- The lawmakers described people pleading through glass for help, including reports of a fever and a lack of sanitary napkins, and said a supervisor told them medical staff would come after they left.
- The Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center at Mesa Gateway Airport is meant for brief staging before ICE Air flights, yet local data show 2026 stays averaging about 36 hours with daily populations near 274 and a reported peak of 777, and the site has no beds or showers.
- DHS told Arizona’s Family the claims of horrific overcrowding were false, while other outlets reported the agency had not provided detailed answers by publication time.
- Stanton said the findings will drive an effort to deny new ICE money in next week’s Homeland Security budget debate, and Arizona Mirror has reported detainee counts dropped ahead of scheduled tours, raising oversight and transparency concerns.