Reps. Espaillat, Ocasio-Cortez, Johnson Commend Biden-Harris Administration on Closure of ICE Irwin County Detention Center

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Representatives Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14),and Hank Johnson (GA-04) released the following joint statement on the Biden-Harris administration and Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas announcement to close the ICE facility in Irwin County, Georgia. The members of Congress long urged the previous administration to close this location following reports of abuse and inhumane treatment at the Irwin facility.

“We commend the Biden-Harris administration and Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas on today’s announcement that it will stop detaining immigrants at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contracted facility in Irwin County, Georgia and has ordered ICE to sever contracts with the facility. Last year, numerous reports surfaced of the appalling conditions and practices at the ICE facility, and we ourselves heard firsthand accounts of the horrific treatment and abuse that multiple women detained at this location had suffered at the hands of facility administrators. Today’s order further reiterates the administration’s commitment to addressing our nation’s broken immigration system in the most humane way possible while ensuring due process and protections of migrants and asylum seekers while upholding the values of our nation. Closure of the Irwin County Detention Center is a significant step in our whole-government approach to addressing our nation’s immigration crisis, and we look forward to continuing our work with President Biden and Vice President Harris to achieve this goal.”

Last fall, Reps. Espaillat, Johnson and Ocasio-Cortez sent a letter to former ICE Acting Director Tony Pham calling on the closure of the Irwin County Detention Center following a visit to the facility to meet with detainees.

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Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov