Overview
- Rep. Jamie Raskin reported seeing 134 adults in custody during a surprise inspection of ICE’s Baltimore field office, calling the holding rooms staggeringly overcrowded.
- Raskin described detainees sleeping on concrete floors with foil blankets, no access to showers, a single toilet in some rooms, and stays lasting several days.
- The facility is a short‑term holding site originally intended for about 12 hours, and it has a stated capacity of 226 that has been reached multiple times in recent weeks.
- Maryland’s congressional delegation sent a formal letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons seeking detailed information on food, hygiene, medical care, visitation, detainee statistics, and time in custody by Feb. 26.
- ICE has not disputed a viral video showing crowded rooms, attributing recent backups to winter weather and deportation‑flight delays, and says it complies with federal standards as a judge’s order now allows unannounced congressional visits.