California Democrat Reacts as ICE Reportedly Held Detainees in Basement

Representative Jimmy Gomez called reports of immigrants being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the basement of a federal building in his Los Angeles district “scary,” telling Newsweek he has “concerns that this facility is not meant to hold individuals overnight, and that it can actually cause harm to the people that are being held there.”

An ICE spokesperson rejected reports of people being held in the basement, telling Newsweek in an email statement on Friday: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement categorically refutes the assertions made by immigration activists in Los Angeles.”

Why It Matters

The California Democrat represents parts of Los Angeles, including the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown L.A., where CBS first reported that dozens of immigrants have been detained in the basement by ICE.

The reported detentions come amid an immigration crackdown under the Trump administration, during which people with valid documentation—including green cards or visas—have been detained and face legal jeopardy.

President Donald Trump has pledged the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history and in the initial months of his second term his administration has deported about 100,000 illegal immigrants, many as a result of his invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which grants the president authority to deport non-citizens without appearing before a judge, among other wartime authorities.

What To Know

Immigration lawyers and impacted families told CBS News that their clients and relatives went to ICE check-in appointments at the federal building this week and were taken into custody and held in the basement. Some people were reported to have spent the night in the basement.

A CBS report cited an attorney who said one of her clients—a couple and their two children—spent the night in a room without beds with limited access to food and water. The woman was later released because of medical concerns related to her high-risk pregnancy.

Other reports include detainees being held without food or water for hours.

In its statement to Newsweek, ICE added: “ICE takes very seriously it’s [sic] mandate to care for people in their custody with dignity and as mandated by law.”

It continued: “Inaccurate statements pushing a false narrative do nothing but put ICE law enforcement personnel and our communities at risk while distorting our mission of public safety and secure borders.”

Gomez told Newsweek in a video interview that the reports are “scary because a lot of these folks are people who had followed the asylum process, doing the normal check-in, and that they had deportation stays and then they were held anyways.”

He said his office is concerned about whether detainees are being fed, receiving necessary medical care and held in appropriate conditions, as the facility is “not meant to have overnight detainees.”

The building has an immigration court, Gomez explained, saying that people checked in and “then they were detained and sent to the basement.”

He said the rise in detentions at ICE appointments is “not normal.” Across the country, there have been numerous reports of people being taken into custody during scheduled check-ins with the agency.

He noted the increase in these types of detentions may be tied to the rollback of a previous policy that discouraged arrests at sensitive locations such as churches, hospitals and schools. Shortly after taking office, Trump issued an executive order revoking those protections.

Gomez told Newsweek that the consequences of making arrests in these sensitive locations “are severe,” saying, “if you can grab somebody at a hospital, then they’re less likely to get the healthcare that they need…courthouses, people stop showing up.

“I think people are scared. They’re feeling that the process that they knew was in place is being upended. That fear leads people not going to work,” as well as not engaging in social life and addressing their health care needs, he said.

What People Are Saying

Juan Proaño, chief executive officer of the League of United Latin American Citizens, told CBS News: “They’re having to literally house these immigrants in a makeshift detention center, which on its face is illegal. It is beyond inhumane treatment for any immigrant and in this particular case, you’re talking about families….The Trump administration, DHS, ICE have gotten way ahead of themselves. They haven’t necessarily planned this properly and don’t have the capacity required in order to continue with large-scale deportation.”

What Happens Next

Gomez told Newsweek that he hopes to visit the facility on Saturday, noting that as a member of Congress, he has the right to “visit any facility that’s detaining migrants.” He said on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday: “@DHS—I demand to go in to get answers. We need to know why law-abiding asylum seekers are being detained, separated, and treated like criminals.”

He told Newsweek: “I think it’s just going to get worse before it gets better. But we’re going to fight back as much as we can through the courts, through Congress, through the public, and try to get people to understand the consequences of Trump’s immigration policies.”