Three members of Arizona’s Congressional delegation made a surprise oversight visit to an ICE holding facility at Mesa Gateway Airport on Thursday evening.
Democratic Reps. Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva say they were shocked by the conditions inside.
Tonight, I conducted unannounced oversight at ICE’s Mesa Airport detention center with @RepYassAnsari and @Rep_Grijalva.
— Rep. Greg Stanton (@RepGregStanton) April 10, 2026
What we saw was horrifying — crowded cells at 2-3x capacity and busses more of detainees being loaded in. This is Trump’s mass deportation machine in action. pic.twitter.com/IueA5cBjyH
"If we treated animals like this, we’d all be arrested," said Grijalva. "It’s disgusting and we should not be treating people this way."
Stanton says many of the detainees had clearly been at the facility for long periods of time.
"What we saw was horrifying — crowded cells at 2-3x capacity and busses more of detainees being loaded in. This is Trump’s mass deportation machine in action," he said in a post on X.
Anasari, meanwhile, described the crowded cells.
"Rooms that have capacity for 21 people, and it clearly says that at the top of each room, filled with 40, 50 people, body to body, detainees begging to speak to us through the windows," she said.
Stanton said that the Mesa Gateway facility is supposed to be for short-term stays while detainees await deportation.
ICE officials have yet to comment on the visit.
