ICYMI: Senator Markey Conducts Site Visit of Burlington ICE Facility, Pledges Continued Oversight of Conditions, ICE Tactics

Massachusetts visit builds on Senator Markey's ongoing oversight of ICE facilities after visiting two Louisiana detention centers in April

Watch: Senator Markey's Press Conference at Faneuil Hall

Boston (December 13, 2025) - After his visit to the Burlington ICE facility on Friday, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) held a press conference with immigrant rights leaders Brooke Simone, Staff Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights, and Carol Rose, Executive Director of ACLU of Massachusetts, at Faneuil Hall to denounce Donald Trump's racist and xenophobic immigration policies and provide more details on his ongoing oversight work.

"I visited the ICE field office in Burlington to exercise my oversight authority and conduct an inspection of the facility. Immigrants, advocates, and attorneys have shared with me reports of horrifying conditions at Burlington-individuals being held for multiple days in crowded cells, sleeping on concrete floors, and lacking access to on-site medical attention. What I saw made clear that this facility is not designed to safely house individuals overnight. The Burlington field office is a bleak, frigid facility where no one deserves to be held.

"I demanded answers from the ICE Boston field office leadership about the reports of inhumane conditions. I urged the field office to change its policies so that immigrants can meet with their attorneys, families, and clergy in person. And I pressed officials on ICE's aggressive tactics, brutal dragnet approach to enforcement, and mechanisms for holding agents accountable.

"My oversight resulted in some answers, but also more questions. I will follow up with the ICE field office to continue my oversight, demand transparency, and advocate for our communities."

Senator Markey continues his efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable for its illegal violations of people's constitutional rights, and gross weaponization of immigration and customs enforcement.

• On November 24, Senator Markey wrote to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney S. Scott, urging the agency to immediately cease using a system of license plate readers and predictive algorithms to monitor the movements of individual Americans. CBP is reportedly using the system to "identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious."
• On November 3, Senator Markey wrote to Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons, requesting ICE to cease the use of their biometric phone application Mobile Fortify after receiving no response to his September 11 letter.
• On June 2, Senator Markey demanded the release of his constituent Marcelo Gomes, an 18-year-old Milford High School student who was detained by ICE agents while traveling to volleyball practice.
• On April 22, Senator Markey and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Jim McGovern (MA-02), along with Representative Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Ranking Member of House Committee on Homeland Security, and Representative Troy Carter (LA-02) visited the Louisiana ICE facility where Ms. Öztürk was being held, as well as another ICE facility holding Mahmoud Khalil.
• Also on April 22, Senator Markey, Representative Pressley, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Todd Lyons, demanding answers about the Trump administration's concerning practice of detaining individuals, such as Ms. Öztürk, far from their attorneys and communities and in legal environments where their rights are more difficult to defend.

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