Joe Scarborough tore into the Trump administration on Tuesday’s “Morning Joe” over its refusal to allow lawmakers into Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, which he said are functioning as “internment camps” where “constitutional rights are being just torn to shreds every single day.”
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The MS NOW host said he found it “extraordinary” that elected officials across the country are being shut out of conducting oversight into facilities in their own states. His comments came after several New Jersey Democratic lawmakers, including Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Sen. Andy Kim, said they were denied access to Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark.
Since Friday, according to the New Jersey Monitor, around 300 migrants have been holding a hunger and work strike to protest conditions at the center. Detainees have reported being held in crowded rooms with no air conditioning and that they have found live worms in their meals.
After those reports, lawmakers tried to gain access to the facility. During that attempt, Kim said he and dozens of other protesters were pepper sprayed by federal agents. Video posted on social media showed the senator washing out his eyes with a bottle of water.
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In a post on X, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called lawmakers’ attempt to enter the facility “nothing more than a political stunt by New Jersey sanctuary politicians,” saying there was “NO hunger strike at Delaney Hall.” He also denied that detainees are dealing with “subprime conditions.” In a separate statement, DHS also said, “No individuals were directly struck by pepper ball projectiles.”
Democratic lawmakers in other states, including New York and California, have also been denied access to ICE facilities.
On “Morning Joe,” Scarborough called for “transparency” at these detention centers.
“What is the Trump administration hiding? What is the DHS hiding? What serial abuses of human beings are they hiding?” he asked.
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