SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego's Democratic congressional delegation was allowed into the basement of the federal building Monday after more than a month of asking to inspect the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility.
The tour came after reports last month of ICE holding people in overcrowded, subpar conditions in the basement facility. The congressional group had been denied access twice before.
"We finally got to see what was going on downstairs," Rep. Scott Peters said.
The Congress members spent about an hour inside the facility and said conditions appeared clean during their visit.
"We will never know whether they cleaned it up for us because we had to give them all sorts of notice," Peters said.
The lawmakers say they saw only three people detained and described seeing eight holding cells of varying sizes, each equipped with metal benches and a toilet, which was blocked off by a small wall.
Reps. Mike Levin and Juan Vargas say they tested the food provided to detainees, and Vargas checked the temperature of the shower water.
During the tour, the representatives spoke with a plumber who said he was detained at the downtown facility.
"He said he didn't do anything wrong other than to work hard because from the moment, sir, that I got here, I worked hard," Vargas said.
According to the congressional delegation, ICE officials told them the basement facility can house a maximum of 122 people. ICE told them the highest occupancy this year was 68 people at once, with detainees spending an average of just over six hours in the facility.
Congress members expressed doubts about those numbers and formally requested written documentation.
"So I heard a lot of 'we'll have to get back to you on that,' so we're going to push, and we're going to ask for those answers," Levin said.
ICE declined an on-camera interview about the facility and tour. A spokesperson said they are working on a statement about the visit, but as of the time of publishing, ABC 10News hasn't received the statement.
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