Exclusive: US Rep. Goldman makes visit to ICE detainment facility at Metropolitan Detention Center
This was Goldman's fourth visit to MDC since ICE started housing detainees there in June of 2025.
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United States Rep. Dan Goldman (D, NY-10) is speaking exclusively with News 12 after a visit to survey the conditions inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainment facility at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
ICE first started housing detainees at the Sunset Park, Brooklyn prison in June of 2025, and since then, Goldman has now been inside four different times.
"It's really important for (the detainees) to see that a member of Congress is coming to make sure they're OK - that there are people in the government who are worried about them," he told News 12.
According to Goldman, ICE currently has 196 people inside, and each has a separate cell with an open space in the middle.
"Even though they are not criminal defendants, they are being held in a criminal jail," he said, "and the difference with the immigration detainees is they are free to roam."
Still, Goldman claims when he first started visiting, many of the other restrictions for criminal detainees were also being placed on the immigration detainees.
"I pushed strongly for them to make sure that they are getting medical care, access to phones, family, medical care, etcetera," he explains.
After Wednesday's visit, he was happy to report one man he met was now finally getting treatment for a heart issue, while ICE had put a full-time supervisor in the immigration wing, helping improve response time to issues.
Goldman also says that while there were some complaints about the showers during his last visit in May, this time, the conditions seemed fine for what they were.
He tells News 12 his main ask was that the paperwork for things like family visits and tracking immigration court cases be made more easily accessible - something he says ICE agreed to immediately.
"The persistent oversight keeps them on their toes," he said. "They know that they can say whatever they want to say to us, but because we have a process where we get release forms, and we can speak to inmates, we're going to find out what's going on, and they are improving."
Goldman lost his primary election in June, meaning he will be out of office at the end of the year.
A campaign spokesperson for Brad Lander, who defeated him and is the Democratic nominee for the seat, says he plans to make similar visits.
News 12 also reached out to Republican nominee Jennifer Moore but has not heard back.
