Rep. Yassamin Ansari compares AZ ICE detention facilities conditions to ‘concentration camps’

U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari says she has personally seen the conditions inside immigration detention facilities across Arizona and compares them to “concentration camps.”

The Arizona Democrat made the comments Tuesday on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos, where she described what she saw during her visits.

“These detention centers are like concentration camps. I think they are disgusting,” Ansari said. “People are facing psychological and physical torture.”

Yassamin Ansari details what she saw in her ICE detention facility visits

The congresswoman first visited the Florence Correctional Center and the Eloy Detention Center in March, explaining at the time that she spoke with multiple detainees at both facilities who documented instances of medical neglect they experienced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

She also visited the federal immigration detention facility at Mesa Gateway Airport twice in April and May, calling the conditions she and other Democrats witnessed during both “inhumane and deeply troubling.” During the April visit specifically, they reported seeing 40-50 people crammed into rooms with a posted maximum capacity of 21.

“I’ve talked to dozens of detainees, … lack of clean drinking water, lack of edible food, getting used underwear and women are getting infections, and then there’s medical neglect,” Ansari explained. “I have a constituent there with leukemia, who’s been there for over a year. Last time I saw her, she vomited blood in front of me. And ICE just stand there not doing anything.”

The congresswoman added that she “would not be surprised if she had already passed away,” if not for the time and effort she and her team have put in to making sure she gets treatment.

Ansari also cited the death of Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian man who died from dental problems while being detained at the Florence Correctional Center.

 

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“More than 50 people have died in the second Trump administration. It’s a record number of deaths,” Ansari emphasized. “It is really horrific. I think it’s a stain on our country.”

Fernando Burgos, Arizona ICE public affairs officer, responded to Ansari’s assertions on Thursday:

Any allegations of inhumane conditions are utterly FALSE. Nearly every single day, ICE responds to media questions regarding allegations about ICE detention facilities like those made here by Rep. Ansari. While Rep. Ansari continues to smear our law enforcement officers, we will continue to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists and gang members; and other criminal illegal aliens.

Congresswoman says there can be happy middle with immigration enforcement

Ansari indicated there can be a happy medium with both a secure border and legal pathways for people seeking asylum as well as students trying to obtain work visas.

“All of that can exist, but that’s not what this administration is doing,” Ansari said. “This administration is trying to make legal immigration as challenging as humanly possible.”

She added that the Trump administration has removed people’s legal statuses, such as Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders and Afghan refugees who support the U.S. military, and the courts have had to stop them.

“We hear a lot from DACA recipients who are terrified because the processing times are deliberately slow right now,” Ansari explained. “So, if somebody sees a lapse in their DACA and ICE rounds them up, they can take them to a detention center.”

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