ICE pushes back, says congresswomen arrived at Florida facility with ‘hostile intentions'
Juan Agudelo, interim field office director for ICE in Miami, said statements from Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson were 'categorically false. These allegations are deliberate attempts to discredit ICE.'
ICE is at the forefront of President Donald Trump's efforts to round up and deport people who aren't in the country legally.
Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson said Monday afternoon that they're not deterred by the ICE response to what they reported after visiting the Broward Transitional Center in Deerfield Beach.
'This statement is nothing more than a distraction from the egregious issues we found at the facility, from detainees sleeping on the floor to the fact that a single doctor was on call 'caring' for hundreds of individuals. Instead of exerting all of its resources on petty personal attacks through the media, ICE should be more focused on providing transparency to the American people,' Cherfilus-McCormick said via email.
Separately, Wilson said via email that her objective was to 'uncover the truth, and as a member of Congress, I cannot and will not sit idly as reports keep coming out of inhumane conditions at different ICE facilities. … ICE must stop wasting its time attacking members of Congress for simply conducting oversight. Instead, they should be worried about following the law, treating immigrants with dignity, and providing honest answers to the American people.'
Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson visited the Broward Transitional Center on Friday to try to learn more about the death of Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian woman who was being detained there. On April 29, ICE announced Blaise had died at the center on April 25.
Cherfilus-McCormick said Friday that detainees told the congresswoman Blaise had complained of chest pain 'for quite a few days' and was given medication the morning of her death, but the chest pains continued.
'From the beginning of the visit, we were met with open hostility and evasiveness by staff. This tour was a complete departure from my visit to the facility in March 2022, in which personnel talked with me and were transparent. You have to ask yourself why,' Cherfilus-McCormick said.
'Marie Blaise should be alive today. I will not stop until her loved ones get the justice they deserve, and all those in ICE custody are treated with basic dignity,' she said.
ICE didn't immediately respond to questions about the congressional visit on Friday. On Monday, it provided the statement from Agudelo, who focused on Wilson. She visited another ICE site, the Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade County, on April 24 to investigate conditions there.
The Miami field office is responsible for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Agudelo said that during their visit to the Deerfield Beach facility on Friday 'the congressional delegation immediately met ICE leadership with hostile intentions, not caring to see any other part of the facility, except the medical area. Congresswoman Wilson demanded answers that are part of an ongoing investigation into the recent death of a detainee. She was informed repeatedly that her questions would be answered at the conclusion of the investigation, however, she unprofessionally persisted in peppering every member present with questions.'
Later in the statement, Agudelo added: 'To suggest that ICE attempted to mislead these elected officials is offensive and slanders to the professionalism of our personnel. This delegation met our team with hostile intentions during the visit, and carried that attitude to their impromptu press conference outside the facility. ICE is committed to transparency and fully supports congressional oversight. We take our responsibility to provide accurate information to both Congress and the public very seriously.'
Wilson was equally strong in her response to Agudelo.
'My goal in questioning ICE officials was simple: to get the answers the American people deserve. ICE didn't appreciate that we weren't here to take a casual tour and nod our heads at everything they said. We ask tough questions because there are real concerns about these facilities that are funded through taxpayer dollars,' Wilson said. 'And this isn't my first rodeo — I know ICE officials clean up the facility beforehand and present a polished narrative of the facility to us, hoping I won't see the full story.'
Cherfilus-McCormick and Wilson said on Friday that ICE staff at the Broward Transitional Center stopped answering questions when they pressed for information about health care staffing and procedures.
ICE said its staff provided lots of information to the congresswoman, including living conditions, recreational facilities, and medical care. 'In fact, ICE leadership detailed the medical care detainees receive from the time they step into the facility and throughout their stay. All aliens in ICE custody receive medical, dental, and mental health screening, including 24-hour emergency care. At no time during detention is a detained illegal alien denied medical care.'
Cherfilus-McCormick, who represents most of the African American and Caribbean American communities in Broward and Palm Beach counties, is the only Haitian American member of Congress. Wilson, who represents South Broward and Miami-Dade counties, represents Miami's Little Haiti community. Both are Democrats.
Blaise was stopped by Customs at Border Protection in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Feb. 12, and eventually transferred to ICE custody. She spent six weeks in a Louisiana correctional facility and in early April was transferred to ICE's Miami Division, and the Broward Transitional Center, the agency said previously.
The Broward Transitional Center, located near the Monarch Hill landfill widely known as Mount Trashmore, is operated by the GEO Group, the national private prison company based in Boca Raton.
_____
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
5 hours ago
- Epoch Times
Oklahoma Governor Details Steps to Secure State Against CCP Influence
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said China has been trying to exert influence at the state level across the United States, which he has rejected while also creating his own international strategy to avoid reliance on China-made imports. 'They're going to the states now because Congress is so dysfunctional. It's so political. It's so partisan that they're literally coming directly to the states,' Stitt said in an interview with ' American Thought Leaders ' that aired on Aug. 1.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Largest National Org Of OB-GYNs Cuts Financial Ties With Trump Admin
The country's largest organization of OB-GYN providers announced this week that it will stop accepting funds from the federal government. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which has more than 60,000 members nationwide, will reject federal funding for all programs and contracts in response to the Trump administration's policies, Axios reported Friday. ACOG appears to be the first nationwide physician organization to cut ties with the Trump administration since President Donald Trump enacted his large-scale campaign to slash all federal initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion. The national organization states on its website that diversity, equity and inclusion are part of the group's core values, which are integral to combating racism and oppression in medical care. The organization declined to expand on how this funding cut will impact its services but reiterated that ACOG remains committed to quality patient care and improving health outcomes. 'After careful deliberation, ACOG has made an organization-wide decision to stop accepting federal funding for all ACOG programs and activities for current contracts,' ACOG said in a statement to HuffPost on Friday. 'Recent changes in federal funding laws and regulations significantly impact ACOG's program goals, policy positions, and ability to provide timely and evidence-based guidance and recommendations for care.' The organization said it will continue to work with the Trump administration on policymaking decisions and advocating for OB-GYNs. 'We will evaluate opportunities to partner with the government in the future where our program goals align,' the statement reads. In response, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told HuffPost on Friday afternoon: 'Protecting the civil rights and expanding opportunities for all Americans is a key priority of the Trump administration, which is why he took decisive actions to terminate unlawful DEI preferences in the federal government.' The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to HuffPost's request for comment. ACOG has been at odds with Trump since his conservative Supreme Court repealed federal abortion protections. The fall of Roe v. Wade created a domino effect of state abortion bans that put pregnant people's lives in danger and threatened to criminalize reproductive health providers.
Miami Herald
5 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Tariffs are making money. That may make them hard to quit.
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's extensive tariffs have already started to generate a significant amount of money for the federal government, a new source of revenue for a heavily indebted nation that American policymakers may start to rely on. As part of his quest to reorder the global trading system, Trump has imposed steep tariffs on America's trading partners, with the bulk of those set to go into effect Thursday. Even before the latest tariffs kick in, revenue from taxes collected on imported goods has grown dramatically so far this year. Customs duties, along with some excise taxes, generated $152 billion through July, roughly double the $78 billion netted over the same time period last fiscal year, according to Treasury data. Indeed, Trump has routinely cited the tariff revenue as evidence that his trade approach, which has sown uncertainty and begun to increase prices for consumers, is a win for the United States. Members of his administration have argued that the money from the tariffs would help plug the hole created by the broad tax cuts Congress passed last month, which are expected to cost the government at least $3.4 trillion. 'The good news is that Tariffs are bringing Billions of Dollars into the USA!' Trump said on social media shortly after a weak jobs report showed signs of strain in the labor market. Over time, analysts expect that the tariffs, if left in place, could be worth more than $2 trillion in additional revenue over the next decade. Economists overwhelmingly hope that doesn't happen and the United States abandons the new trade barriers. But some acknowledge that such a substantial stream of revenue could end up being hard to quit. 'I think this is addictive,' said Joao Gomes, an economist at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. 'I think a source of revenue is very hard to turn away from when the debt and deficit are what they are.' Trump has long fantasized about replacing taxes on income with tariffs. He often refers fondly to American fiscal policy in the late 19th century, when there was no income tax and the government relied on tariffs, citing that as a model for the future. And while income and payroll taxes remain by far the most important sources of government revenue, the combination of Trump's tariffs and the latest Republican tax cut does, on the margin, move the United States away from taxing earnings and toward taxing goods. Such a shift is expected to be regressive, meaning that rich Americans will fare better than poorer Americans under the change. That's because cutting taxes on income does, in general, provide the biggest benefit to richer Americans who earn the most income. The recent Republican cut to income taxes and the social safety net is perhaps the most regressive piece of major legislation in decades. Placing new taxes on imported products, however, is expected to raise the cost of everyday goods. Lower-income Americans spend more of their earnings on those more expensive goods, meaning the tariffs amount to a larger tax increase for them compared with richer Americans. Tariffs have begun to bleed into consumer prices, with many companies saying they will have to start raising prices as a result of added costs. And analysts expect the tariffs to weigh on the performance of the economy overall, which in turn could reduce the amount of traditional income tax revenue the government collects every year. 'Is there a better way to raise that amount of revenue? The economic answer is: Yes, there is a better way, there are more efficient ways,' said Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale Budget Lab and a former Biden administration official. 'But it's really a political question.' Tedeschi said that future leaders in Washington, whether Republican or Democrat, may be hesitant to roll back the tariffs if that would mean a further addition to the federal debt load, which is already raising alarms on Wall Street. And replacing the tariff revenue with another type of tax increase would require Congress to act, while the tariffs would be a legacy decision made by a previous president. 'Congress may not be excited about taking such a politically risky vote when they didn't have to vote on tariffs in the first place,' Tedeschi said. Some in Washington are already starting to think about how they could spend the tariff revenue. Trump recently floated the possibility of sending Americans a cash rebate for the tariffs, and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., recently introduced legislation to send $600 to many Americans. 'We have so much money coming in, we're thinking about a little rebate, but the big thing we want to do is pay down debt,' Trump said last month of the tariffs. Democrats, once they return to power, may face a similar temptation to use the tariff revenue to fund a new social program, especially if raising taxes in Congress proves as challenging as it has in the past. As it is, Democrats have been divided over tariffs. Maintaining the status quo may be an easier political option than changing trade policy. 'That's a hefty chunk of change,' Tyson Brody, a Democratic strategist, said of the tariffs. 'The way that Democrats are starting to think about it is not that 'these will be impossible to withdraw.' It's: 'Oh, look, there's now going to be a large pot of money to use and reprogram.'' Of course, the tariffs could prove unpopular, and future elected officials may want to take steps that could lower consumer prices. At the same time, the amount of revenue the tariffs generate could decline over time if companies do, in fact, end up bringing back more of their operations to the United States, reducing the number of goods that face the import tax. 'This is clearly not an efficient way to gather revenue,' said Alex Jacquez, a former Biden official and the chief of policy and advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal group. 'And I don't think it would be a long-term progressive priority as a way to simply collect revenue.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
