Budzinski and Bell Visit Immigration Detention Center 

STE. GENEVIEVE, MO — Today, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) and Congressman Wesley Bell (MO-01) visited the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center, which serves as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract facility. The members toured the facility and spoke to detainees who had been living in their respective districts.

“Over the last year, we’ve seen members of our community detained by ICE while going to work, picking up their kids, or simply going about their daily lives. Many of those individuals have been transferred to the Ste. Genevieve detention facility. As their representative, I have a responsibility to conduct oversight and see that these facilities are operating safely, humanely, and transparently,” said Budzinski. “We heard concerns from detainees regarding some basic necessities, including access to medical care, which we have immediately elevated to facility leadership.  We will continue to closely monitor conditions in detention facilities and pursue meaningful reforms to the current operations of ICE and CBP.”

“As a Member of Congress and the House Oversight Committee, and as a former prosecutor and public defender, I’m committed to conducting oversight to ensure DHS and ICE are operating humanely and according to their written standards,” said Bell. “Speaking to detainees and witnessing the conditions of the Ste. Genevieve County Jail, where detainees from Missouri’s First District are often sent, was exactly what I expected: these facilities were not designed for this use, but for incarceration. Many of these individuals are here working jobs, raising families and following the rules. They did not break the law and were appearing at their asylum or immigration hearings as instructed – and they were detained anyway. The human beings detained across our country need to be treated as just that — and they deserve so much more care than they are being given. I’ll continue to fight to ensure these detainees are given adequate healthcare and legal protections and are treated with the dignity and respect all people deserve, not only in the St. Louis region, but across the country.”

Budzinski has continued to advocate for common-sense reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operations. Most recently, she became a cosponsor of the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in ICE and CBP Custody Act, legislation aimed at strengthening oversight and improving conditions for individuals held in federal immigration custody.

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