ICE and Bureau of Prisons Deny Reps. Goldman, Espaillat and Velazquez Access to MDC Brooklyn Amid Reports of Inhumane Conditions
August 6, 2025
Prison Notorious for Violence and Understaffing is Being Used by ICE to House Over 100 Detainees, Many of Whom Lack Any Criminal Records
Members Condemn Lack of Transparency, Demand Immediate Termination of ICE Contract
View Videos and Photos of the Visit Here
BROOKLYN, NY — Congressmembers Dan Goldman (NY-10), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07) today were denied entry to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Brooklyn during an oversight visit. Joined by advocates from the ACLU, NYIC, and NYCLU, the lawmakers had planned to review the conditions under which over 100 immigrants are now being detained following a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreement with the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
Last week, Congressmen Goldman, Espaillat, and 10 other Members of Congress filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its continued refusal to allow members of Congress to access ICE detention facilities, in direct violation of federal law empowering them to do so. That includes repeatedly denying Congressman Goldman access to 26 Federal Plaza, which is also located in New York’s 10thcongressional district.
“Members of Congress have a constitutional and statutory right and responsibility to conduct oversight at facilities being used by the Department of Homeland Security to detain immigrants. Period, end of story,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “The Trump administration’s lawless efforts to defy that constitutional authority are a gross abuse of power, and we’re taking them to court in defense of that principle and to find out what they’re hiding.”
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Espaillat said, “Denying Members of Congress access to a federal detention facility is outrageous and unacceptable. As Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I won’t tolerate this lack of transparency, especially when the lives of immigrant detainees are at stake. MDC Brooklyn has a well-documented record of abuse. ICE should not be allowed to expand its reach through backdoor deals with federal prisons. This contract must be terminated now.”
Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez said, “This morning, we were denied our right to conduct oversight, in clear violation of the law. Members of Congress are entitled to make unannounced visits, especially when there are serious concerns about abuse and neglect. Instead, ICE and BOP shut us out. MDC Brooklyn has a long and shameful history of inhumane conditions, and now they are holding immigrants behind closed doors with no accountability. We are not going away. This contract must be terminated, and we will keep demanding answers.”
The denial of access raises concerns about conditions at the facility and the conduct of ICE and BOP. MDC Brooklyn has a documented history of violence, abuse, neglect, and civil rights violations—including medical mistreatment, extreme temperatures, and unsanitary conditions. Federal judges have condemned the jail as “barbaric” and “inhumane,” and yet it continues to be used for civil immigration detention.
Sarah Mehta, Deputy Director of Government Affairs at the ACLU, said, “Denying members of Congress their access to immigration detention violates their right to conduct oversight at a time when we need it most. Masked deportation squads are taking people off of our streets and putting them behind closed doors where they have limited access to counsel and are often held in appalling conditions. We need more oversight and transparency, not less.”
Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition, said, “MDC is notorious for dangerous and inhumane conditions that have resulted in multiple inmate deaths – including medical neglect, abuse, severe understaffing, and extreme temperatures. Detaining any New Yorkers in these conditions is a violation of their human rights. And denying Members of Congress access to a federal detention facility is not only morally reprehensible, it is illegal. We join our Congressional Representatives to demand the end of illegal detentions, abductions of immigrant NYers at courthouses and on the streets. The Trump administration must end its mass deportation agenda and attacks on immigrants now.”
Daniel Lambright, Special Counsel for Criminal Justice Litigation at the NYCLU, said, “MDC Brooklyn is a secretive, inhumane disaster that should have no place in immigration enforcement. They wouldn't let us in this morning, but we know what they are trying to hide: spoiled food, extreme temperatures, lack of medical care, and unchecked violence. No one should endure such abuse, let alone immigrants accused of no crime awaiting their day in court. As the Trump administration tries to supercharge its mass deportation and degradation agenda, it’s imperative that our congressional leaders can provide oversight and observe conditions at jails like MDC Brooklyn.”
Last month, Congressman Goldman sent an oversight letter of inquiry to BOP demanding answers on their new interagency agreement with ICE to house more than 100 immigration detainees at MDC. In the letter, Congressman Goldman demanded that the BOP immediately suspend all transfers to MDC and any other facility with a documented history of unsafe conditions, detail current conditions at the MDC and how the influx of new immigrants has impacted them, as well as how the Bureau intends to use the new funding from the Republican’s reconciliation bill to address staffing shortages and issues across BOP managed sites.
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