Congress members detail dire conditions at DTLA ICE facility: no food, beds

(LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA) Members of Congress entered the ICE detention facility in downtown Los Angeles on Monday after months of denied access, and immediately accused the agency of staging the scene. The DTLA site, known as B-18, was almost empty when Reps. Judy Chu, Brad Sherman, Jimmy Gomez, and Maxine Waters arrived on August 11, 2025. For months, detainees and advocates have described stark conditions inside B-18, including scarce food and water, no beds, overcrowding, and detentions well past the stated 72-hour limit. Lawmakers said the empty cells they saw did not match the steady flow of complaints their offices have received this summer.

Rep. Chu said the facility has nine cells “and these are just cold, concrete floors,” with no beds in sight. She and other members reported seeing scant food supplies. By contrast, detainees have told attorneys and journalists they sometimes receive only one meal a day and lack basic hygiene items like soap and toothbrushes. Several people said they had to sleep standing up because the cells were packed. Others said they were held as long as 12 days, far beyond the 72-hour policy ICE cites for short-term holding at B-18.

Rep. Gomez accused ICE of “sanitizing” the site ahead of the visit, a charge echoed by local advocates who tried for months to get Congress into the building. Sergio Perez of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law said the process to gain entry was alarmingly slow and blocked by shifting rules. ICE did not provide answers to lawmakers’ basic questions, including how many people have passed through B-18 this summer, the average length of detention, and whether California detainees are being transferred to other states.

Oversight Rules and Entry Barriers

In June, the Department of Homeland Security changed the rules for oversight visits, requiring members to give 72 hours’ notice and staff at least 24 hours’ before entering an ICE detention facility. Lawmakers and advocates say the rule makes unannounced inspections almost impossible.

DHS has not responded to media requests for current detainee numbers or an explanation for the shift. The updated guidance appears on the DHS website: https://www.dhs.gov.

Barriers inside B-18 also limit direct communication. Rep. Sherman said detainees must sign a consent form before members of Congress can speak with them, and family members are not allowed to sign on someone’s behalf. That process can stop urgent conversations—especially when a person has been moved without warning or when phone access is cut off. Lawyers say these hurdles make it hard to check welfare claims in real time and to prevent people from being pressured to sign deportation forms without legal counsel.

Capacity, National Surge, and Transfers

• Facility capacity: B-18 can hold up to 335 people, according to lawmakers who visited, yet it was nearly empty during their tour.
• National detention surge: As of June 2025, more than 59,000 people were held in ICE custody across the United States, far above the 41,500 beds funded by Congress.
• ICE funding request: VisaVerge.com reports that ICE has asked Congress to fund an additional 100,000 detention beds in response to mass raids and stepped-up enforcement.

ICE has not answered whether people picked up in Los Angeles are being flown to out-of-state jails to ease local crowding.

Conditions Reported Inside B-18

People who passed through the downtown Los Angeles site this summer described the following conditions:

• Cold rooms with only concrete floors
• No blankets and lights that stay on
• Some received only a pack of cookies and a small juice as their single meal of the day
• Denied basic hygiene items, such as soap and toothbrushes
• Delayed or absent medical attention
• Phones taken away, preventing families from reaching loved ones for days

Under ICE’s stated policy, people should not be held at B-18 for more than 72 hours before being transferred or released. Yet multiple accounts describe stays of a week or more. That gap between policy and practice motivated lawmakers to push for unannounced entry; the recent visit came after weeks of back-and-forth and the newly required notice. For members, the near-empty cells only raised more questions about what the building looks like on ordinary days when no cameras are present.

ICE maintains that B-18 is a short-term stop and that people receive three meals a day and necessary care. Officials have not released current detainee counts for the site and have not addressed the gap between the 72-hour rule and reports of weeklong stays. DHS did not answer media questions sent over the past month regarding how the new oversight policy was drafted or how it will be applied at other short-term holding sites.

Key takeaway: Reported conditions and communication barriers at B-18 contrast sharply with ICE’s stated short-term policies and claimed services.

Practical Steps for Families

For families worried about someone held at B-18, advocates suggest these practical measures:

1. Keep the person’s full name, A-number, and date of birth ready.
2. Call the ICE Detention Reporting and Information Line: 1-888-351-4024 to:
   • Request welfare checks
   • Report medical concerns
   • Flag potential transfer errors
3. Ask the person, if possible, not to sign any documents until they have spoken with an attorney.
4. Contact local congressional district offices for assistance; many offices maintain staff who track detention problems and can request status updates (including the offices of Reps. Gomez and Chu).

What Comes Next

What follows is likely to unfold on two tracks:

• In Congress: Members are pressing to restore unannounced inspections and to require public reporting on average detention times at each short-term site, including B-18.
• In court: Advocates are challenging conditions and communication barriers.

ICE is seeking more money for beds, a request that faces resistance from immigrant rights groups and some lawmakers who want the agency to meet standards first.

For people in custody today, the core questions remain basic and urgent:

• A bed to sleep on
• Clean water
• Enough food
• A quick, fair chance to speak with counsel

Warning: The evolving oversight rules (requiring 72 hours’ notice) make it harder to verify on-the-ground conditions in real time. Families and advocates should act quickly to document concerns and use the ICE reporting line and congressional contacts listed above.