Fox News host Jesse Watters is absolutely gushing over ICE detention centers, calling the facilities “amazing.”
Watters and his The Five co-host Jessica Tarlov had a heated exchange over the treatment of detainees at ICE jails on Friday. Their back-and-forth included discussing the Jan. 3 death of 55-year-old Cuban immigrant Geraldo Lunas Campos. Watters parroted ICE’s claims that Campos was attempting suicide and that guards were trying to save him.
“It’s already been debunked weeks ago,” Watters said on The Five. “The guy was trying to commit suicide, and the people were trying to save his life.”
Campos had been detained in Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas. An autopsy done by the medical examiner of El Paso County ruled Campos’ death a homicide. He had sustained injuries to the head as well as burst blood vessels in his neck.
Watters went on to praise ICE detention centers and claimed that they had “concierge healthcare” for detainees.
“These detention centers are amazing,” he said. “You get dental care. You get free healthcare. Have you ever seen the kind of concierge healthcare services they have at these detention facilities? Where did this guy come from? This guy came from Ecuador without running water. He’s lucky to have these types of services.”
Tarlov attempted to interject and pushed back on Watter’s claims. She said that she had visited Alligator Alcatraz and encouraged Watters to go see it for himself.
“You go, go live in there,” the Democratic co-host said.
Human rights advocates have produced reports shedding light on inhumane conditions at ICE detention centers. At Camp East Montana, located on the Fort Bliss military base where Campos was killed, 45 detainees shared instances of physical assaults, sexual abuse, and intimidation during interviews with the ACLU and other organizations.
“The grim reality unfolding at Fort Bliss should serve as a stark warning: the Trump administration’s mass detention surge is not just unsustainable, but fundamentally dangerous,” the ACLU said in a news release in December, less than a month before Campos’ death. “What is happening at Fort Bliss today foreshadows the humanitarian crises that will follow at every new facility opened under this unchecked strategy.”
Ongoing criticism toward ICE facilities comes as efforts to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have ramped up in recent weeks.
Following the killing of Renee Nicole Good, 37, by ICE agent Jonathan Ross, 43, Illinois Rep. Robin Kelly filed articles of impeachment against Noem. Kelly accused Noem of “obstruction of Congress” for denying lawmakers access to DHS facilities as well as abusing her position for personal benefit.
