Rep. Kelly Morrison describes 'horrifying' conditions inside Whipple building
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A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that barred members of Congress from making unannounced oversight visits to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities.
The emergency order restores congressional oversight rights, allowing lawmakers to enter ICE facilities without advance notice, speak with detainees and investigate conditions, like overcrowding, shackling, denial of medical care and lack of access to counsel.
The policy in question was issued by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Jan. 8, following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal agent. The memo came to light after three Minnesota Democratic members of Congress were denied access to Whipple on Jan. 10. Federal officials informed them that they needed to submit a visit request at least seven days in advance.
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Minnesota’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison is one of the members of Congress who was initially denied access and is now a plaintiff in the legal case regarding this issue. Over the weekend, she was able to enter the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis after giving seven days’ notice of her visit. Currently, immigrants, U.S. citizens, refugees and protesters are being held at the federal facility.
Morrison described what she saw inside as “horrifying and heartbreaking,” citing cold temperatures, a lack of beds, blankets and sufficient food, and people held in leg shackles.
“They're in small rooms, and I'm not sure where they would run to, but it's just a very dehumanizing thing to do to someone,” Morrison said.
As a physician, she said she was alarmed to learn there are no formal medical protocols at Whipple because it is considered a holding site rather than a detention center. She was told a nurse is present only occasionally and that no doctors are on site.
During her visit, Morrison briefly spoke with two women being held at the facility. One told her detainees were not being treated like human beings. Another woman, who was shackled and alone in a cell, described being separated from her husband and 7-year-old daughter.
“She'd been there for hours when I met with her but had not been able to make a phone call to be in contact with her daughter, so the daughter had been left with a friend and was now separated from both her parents,” Morrison said. “This woman was sobbing. She was nearly hysterical, and she asked me when or if she was going to be put on a plane to Texas. The agent who was standing next to me couldn't or wouldn't give her an answer.”
Morrison said federal agents were unable or unwilling to answer basic questions about how many people were being held, how many medical emergencies had occurred or how many hospital transfers had taken place. She described the atmosphere inside Whipple as chaotic, disorganized and unsafe, with visible desperation, confusion and anguish.
“This is a reckless operation. It's tearing communities apart, and it's traumatizing our neighbors,” Morrison said. “I am more resolved than ever that ICE and CBP need to leave Minnesota immediately, and there needs to be dramatic reform.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions about conditions inside the facility.
— Erica Zurek, MPR News
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