The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday pushed back on a new report from NBC News that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainees are going hungry and being fed spoiled food.
“FAKE NEWS! Any claim that there is a lack of food or subprime conditions at ICE detention centers are FALSE,” DHS said in a post on the social platform X.
“All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment, and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers. Meals are certified by dieticians. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE,” the department added.
According to the NBC News report, ICE detainees in multiple states have reported facing food scarcity or receiving spoiled food, according to immigration advocates and detainees themselves. The outlet said detainees are experiencing weight loss and sickness as a result.
One Salvadoran man being held at the Golden State Annex detention facility in California complained of flavorless ground beef that “looks like little, small pebbles.” An attorney said clients described moldy and inedible food at some centers. And the wife of a man held in El Paso, Texas, said, “He tells me many are given two spoonfuls of rice and that many are still hungry,” according to NBC News.
The Hill has reached out to NBC News for comment on DHS’s response to its reporting.
Democrats have railed against the Trump administration’s immigration policies and ICE tactics, which have included workplace raids, masked agents and alleged racial profiling.
President Trump’s critics have raised particular alarm about “Alligator Alcatraz,” a recently opened facility in Florida’s Everglades.
Following a tour of the facility this weekend, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) said detainees “are essentially packed into cages, wall-to-wall humans, 32 detainees per cage.”
Families of detainees have complained of sweltering heat, power outages, intense mosquitoes and lack of food at the detention center.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons responded to criticism from Democrats during a Monday interview on Fox News.
“One thing that a lot of the elected officials need to realize is, this isn’t a resort in Florida. People aren’t coming to that location for a long-term stay. They’re there to just be housed so they can be removed from the country quickly,” he said.
“And like I said, I’ll always go back to, ICE prides itself on our detention standards, and I’m still going to stick with that with our partnership in the state of Florida.”
