Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was granted a tour of the controversial Krome Detention Center in Miami on Thursday — and said that what she saw there was “incredibly disturbing.”
Krome, the United States' oldest immigration detention facility and one with a troubled history, has come under national scrutiny again in recent months after reports of abuse and detainee deaths.
Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, arrived at the facility for an unannounced visit and was granted a three-hour tour. Outside, she shared with the press what she saw.
“This is not a nice place. It's not a nice place to be. There's no-one in your family that you would ever want to be here… because you wouldn't want anyone that you care about to be in the conditions that these people are being held in,” she said.
In April, Wasserman Schultz and 48 other House members signed a letter to Department of Homeland Security director Krisi Noem criticizing the agency for shutting down “key oversight offices,” saying it raises serious questions about DHS complying with the law in managing detention facilities like Krome.
Two detainees have died at Krome this year. Genry Ruiz Guillen, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, died Jan. 23. The other undocumented immigrant was Maksym Chernyak, 44, of Ukraine, who died Feb. 20.
Miami-based Americans for Immigrant Justice said in April it had obtained direct testimony from immigrants “who suffered appalling and shocking treatment at the Krome Detention Center in violation of basic human rights.”
They found “degrading and inhumane treatment” that included “confining people in overcrowded ‘holding’ cells; people forced to sleep on cold concrete floors without any blankets or bedding in unsanitary condition; and detainees not given the right to contact family members or attorneys to tell them their whereabouts.”
‘Incredibly disturbing’
Wasserman Schultz seemed to confirm some of these allegations during her press conference.
“ It is incredibly disturbing that you have what I could only call a pile of people who are in these intake cells for a lengthy but unknown period of time,” she said.
Wasseramn Schultz was told the facility has a capacity of 882 people, but that the current population was over 1,100.
Wasserman Schultz is not the only member of congress to tour the facility. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson made a planned visit last month.
Wilson said she believed federal immigration authorities moved detainees out of the facility and cleaned it up in advance of her tour. “It was like somebody went in there yesterday and put on a whole new coat of fresh paint," she said afterwards.
READ MORE: Congresswoman Wilson demands access to Krome facility amid allegations of mistreatment of immigrants
Speaking on Thursday, Wasserman Schultz said she had no doubt that Wilson was given a different experience.
“ I can tell you that some of the things I saw would not have looked like that if I had given them notice,” she said.
In addition, Wasserman Schultz said she was given conflicting answers from Krome officials on multiple occasions and received information from detainees that differed from what staff told her.
“ I was told the average stay is about 60 days, but the first person that was a constituent of mine that I was able to talk to… he's been there since December,” she said.
She also was told that 40% of the population has no criminal record — which she says contradicts the Trump administration's pronouncements on its immigration crackdown.
“ Donald Trump keeps saying that he's only gonna go after the worst of the worst. Well, you don't have the worst of the worst here,” she said.
Wasserman Schultz said she would remember her tour of Krome when conducting the Department of Homeland Security’s budget review. She is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.
“I plan to aggressively engage in making sure that I can communicate to my colleagues and offer amendments to the Republican bill when it's introduced to ensure that we can make conditions better in these facilities,” she said.
