U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez will tour the Krome Detention Center this Monday as part of a congressional oversight visit to review conditions and operations at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in western Miami-Dade County.
The fact-finding mission is part of the congressman’s role in overseeing federal homeland security operations. Gimenez, a Republican who represents parts of Miami-Dade and the Florida Keys, is scheduled to hold a press conference following the tour to share his observations and findings.
The visit comes amid ongoing national debate over immigration enforcement and detention practices.
Gimenez, the only Cuban-born member of the 119th Congress, chairs the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security. A former Miami-Dade County mayor and City of Miami fire chief, he has long emphasized border security and law enforcement oversight as key legislative priorities.
Gimenez recently toured a Downtown Miami federal detention center
The Krome tour follows a recent visit Gimenez made to the Federal Detention Center in Downtown Miami, where immigration detainees are also being held. The June 17 visit made him the first Republican lawmaker to tour the facility since a Miami Herald investigation raised alarms over alleged inhumane conditions.
Gimenez pushed back on those claims after the visit, saying, “I saw no deplorable living conditions here. This is not the Ritz-Carlton. It is a detention center. But there’s nothing inhumane about what’s going on.”
The congressman said his visit was prompted by media reports of overcrowding, but he noted the facility is operating below capacity — 311 detainees in a space built for 500. He also addressed a recent incident involving dozens of detainees resisting orders and damaging property, acknowledging tensions within the facility.
Two Democratic members of Congress have already visited Krome, which has also drawn scrutiny after detainees staged a protest spelling out “SOS” in the recreation yard.
