Madison Sheahan, deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, shot back Monday on Newsmax at criticism from a Florida Democrat lawmaker that a detention facility for illegal immigrants is an "internment camp" that should be "shut the hell down."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Fla., claimed the conditions at "Alligator Alcatraz," a state-run ICE detention center on an airport tarmac surrounded by the Everglades that opened July 3, as "really appalling" after touring the facility Saturday with other lawmakers. She described the detention areas as "cages, wall-to-wall" that held 32 people per "cage," which contained only bunk beds and "three tiny toilets" that are a toilet and sink combined into a single unit.
President Donald Trump, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis toured the facility July 1, with Trump saying, "This is an amazing thing that they've done here."
Sheahan told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren" the "cages" are no more different than a prison cell.
"What we have is some of the best facilities in the country," Sheahan said. "This facility in particular shows that whole-of-government approach that President Trump and Secretary Noem have taken leadership on to be able to allow ICE to execute its mission every single day.
"And I would also say that it was the Biden administration that put people in cages throughout the country to be able to allow them to come into this country without being vetted, and us having no idea who came into the country over the last four years because of the open-border policies."
Democrats appear to be parroting mainstream media reports driving a narrative that illegal immigrants are facing poor conditions and mistreatment at ICE detention centers nationwide. The Department of Homeland Security earlier Monday ripped an NBC News report as "fake news" that alleged illegal immigrants in overcapacity detention centers are going hungry because of food shortages.
"Our whole team has visited [Alligator Alcatraz]," Sheahan said. "Secretary Noem has visited, so has President Trump. … Not only are federal detention standards much higher than state and local, ICE has some of the highest detention standards in the country to [the] point that some state and locals have a hard time meeting our standards because they are so high.
"And I think what you're seeing is just the classic relationship with the Democrats wanting better standards for criminal illegal aliens than they do the American people."
Sheahan said it typically takes roughly 60 to 90 days for an illegal alien to remain in a facility while they go through the immigration hearing process. She said the typical stay at Alligator Alcatraz is two weeks, although it could be shorter if a person wants to self-deport. The DHS in May offered illegal aliens who use the CBP Home App to self-deport will receive a stipend of $1,000, paid after their return to their home country has been confirmed through the app.
"We're seeing aliens move through the facility relatively quickly," she said. "And then the self-deportations are helping with that, as well as working with DOJ [Department Justice] through the immigration hearing process."
Sheahan added if a detained alien requests to self-deport to their home country one night, it can happen the next day.
"We offer the program every single day," she said. "Our detention officers will go through working with the state of Florida to offer these stipends or these opportunities to self-deport. And we're seeing people take it at a roughly 50% rate."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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