ORLANDO, FL — Recently Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, Ranking Member Robert Garcia, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and members of the House Oversight Committee, alongside local leaders and immigration advocates, hosted a press conference in Orlando to announce the launch of new investigations and introduced the No Illegal Captivity and Extensions (NICE) Act, aimed at ending U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement’s (ICE) practice of holding detained immigrants indefinitely without charges.
During the press conference, members outlined concerns about due process, civil rights, and the growing role of local jails in federal immigration enforcement.
Local sheriffs and jails across the country have increasingly become a critical component in implementing President Trump’s mass arrest and deportation agenda, with Central Florida playing a key role in these efforts. The announcement also comes on the heels of Orange County’s recent decision to revise its federal agreement to limit the detention of immigrants to 48 hours.
“Following today’s oversight visit to Central Florida, it’s clear that communities across the country must follow Orange County’s lead in rejecting these horrific detention practices that have happened here in Orlando. It’s time to put an end to ICE’s abuse of local jail agreements,” said Congressman Maxwell Frost. “That is why today, alongside Oversight Ranking Member Robert Garcia, I am introducing the No Illegal Captivity and Extensions (NICE) Act to close the loopholes that allow ICE to prolong detention without due process and continue operating without accountability, because there is nothing ‘nice’ about separating families, denying due process, and treating human beings without basic dignity.”
“Oversight Democrats are committed to exposing and confronting the abuses happening here in Florida,” said Oversight Ranking Member, Robert Garcia. “From our conversations with local advocates and attorneys, it’s clear that what is happening in Orlando — and across the state — is incredibly serious. Some of the worst abuses are happening under Governor Ron DeSantis’ watch. What we heard today about how people are being detained, shuffled in and out of facilities, and stopped by multiple agencies should outrage every Floridian and every American. No one should be subjected to a system that strips them of their dignity and due process.”
In addition to the legislation, Congressman Frost and Ranking Member Garcia sent three letters: one to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Senior ICE Official Todd Lyons requesting more information on immigration detainers, and letters to the CEOs of Akima and GEO Group seeking details about the inhumane conditions on buses contracted by ICE.
