Rep. Adelita Grijalva Calls Out Florence ICE Facility Over Lengthy Detentions

U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva dropped by the Florence Staging Facility in Arizona this week, unannounced and unsatisfied. The facility, run by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, is supposed to hold recently detained men and women for no more than 72 hours before transferring them to long-term detention centers. But Grijalva’s visit was prompted by reports from detainees claiming they were held for weeks—far beyond the official limit.

Inside the facility, which she described as sterile, Grijalva pressed officers on why detainees were kept so long. The response was vague: “processing issues” and logistical challenges in that specific area. Despite the facility’s official purpose as a short-term holding site, the reality appears to be different.

Grijalva also took issue with the language used by staff, who repeatedly referred to detainees as “aliens.” “You mean people?” she challenged, highlighting the dehumanizing rhetoric entrenched in immigration enforcement culture.

Although she was allowed inside, Grijalva was not permitted to speak with any detainees during her roughly 30-minute visit. She contrasted this with her previous experience at a Mesa facility, where she was outright denied entry.

This visit is part of Grijalva’s ongoing effort to shine a light on ICE’s detention practices. Along with Democratic colleagues Greg Stanton and Yassamin Ansari, she has introduced legislation aiming to limit short-term detention at sites like Florence to no more than 12 hours—far shorter than the current 72-hour maximum.

The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment without specific detainee information, a standard dodge that leaves serious questions unanswered.

Grijalva’s visit underscores the urgent need for greater oversight and accountability in ICE detention centers, where delays and poor conditions continue to plague detainees. Her commitment to surprise inspections and legislative action signals a fight against the normalization of prolonged, inhumane detention practices.

We will keep watching as this story unfolds, because when it comes to ICE and human rights abuses, silence is complicity.