🚨 ALERT: Baltimore ICE Facility — Whistleblower Exposes Systematic Abuse¶

Facility: George H. Fallon Federal Building, 6th Floor
Address: 31 Hopkins Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21201
Classification: SHORT-TERM HOLDING — designed for 12 hours max
Status: ACTIVE — detainees held for days in conditions a whistleblower compared to slave ships
Sources: WUSA9 exclusive investigation, federal class action lawsuit, congressional tour, internal documents
Confidence: HIGH — first-person testimony corroborated by internal headcount sheets, lawsuit filings, and congressional witness

What Happened¶

A former ICE facility worker — the first person to speak publicly from inside the Baltimore detention center — provided internal documents and testimony to WUSA9 in February 2026 describing conditions they witnessed from their first days of employment:

"I saw people laying in feces, people throwing up, people laying in urine."

"People laying on the floor, head to toe. That reminded me of the pictures that I saw in elementary school of how they brought the slaves from Africa."

The worker was fired after reporting the abuse to supervisors. Their termination letter stated they were "not a good fit."

The Evidence¶

Overcrowding¶

Internal headcount sheets provided by the whistleblower — dating to December 2025, more than a month before the winter storm ICE cited — document:

Date	Detainees in single cell
December (week 1)	47
December (week 2)	50
December (week 3)	56

These cells were designed for short-term holding — 12 hours maximum under ICE's own policy. People were held for 48-72 hours or longer.

A viral video shared in January 2026 showed dozens of detainees crammed into a holding cell without beds or showers, with audio of voices pleading for help in Spanish, saying they had not been allowed to wash in 10 days. The whistleblower says conditions were worse than the video showed.

Denial of Sanitation¶

Female detainees were given diapers instead of sanitary products during menstrual cycles
Because diapers couldn't be flushed and rooms lacked trash cans, staff gave detainees cardboard boxes that filled with used diapers
Inadequate access to hygiene supplies
No showers available for days at a time
The whistleblower became visibly emotional recounting these conditions

Restraint Chair Abuse¶

A detainee was strapped into a restraint chair for making noise at night — not for posing a danger.

ICE policy states: "Restraints are only used if a detainee poses a danger to themselves or others, never for disciplinary reasons and not for extended periods."

The whistleblower's testimony directly contradicts this.

Staff Dehumanization¶

Staff group text messages obtained by the whistleblower included:

"Smells like an animal house at the zoo."

The former worker stated: "That's how I've seen some of the officers treat them and talk to them out of the Baltimore office — like they were animals in a cage at the zoo."

Medical Care Halted¶

ICE stopped paying for detainee medical treatment beginning in October 2025 — coinciding with Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons' cost-cutting measures documented in his Cabinet dossier.

ICE's Response¶

An ICE spokesperson flatly denied the allegations:

"Overcrowding does not happen."

The statement attributed the viral video to "a temporary result of flight cancellations due to a historic snowstorm." Internal documents predate the storm by more than a month.

The statement did not address specific allegations about:
- Sanitation failures
- Restraint chair abuse
- Staff text messages
- The whistleblower's termination after reporting

Legal and Political Responses¶

Federal Class Action Lawsuit¶

D.N.N. and V.R.G. v Baker — filed May 9, 2025, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Filed by the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights and the National Immigration Project on behalf of two women — one Guatemalan, one Salvadoran — who had lived in Maryland for years with lawful status before being abruptly detained.

One plaintiff held for 60 hours
The other for 48 hours
Both in conditions the lawsuit describes as "inhumane"
Multiple detainees report 20+ men in a 12×12 foot cell with one toilet lacking privacy

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown filed an amicus brief supporting the lawsuit, stating detainees were kept without adequate medical care, nutrition, water, sanitary facilities, or access to lawyers.

ICE Policy Change¶

In June 2025, ICE issued a waiver increasing the permissible holding period from 12 to 72 hours, citing "operational necessity." Advocacy groups argue even this limit is routinely exceeded.

Congressional Oversight — Blocked¶

Maryland's congressional delegation — including both U.S. senators — was denied a tour of the facility by acting field office director Nikita Baker, citing a directive from "headquarters."

Rep. April McClain Delaney (D-MD) later gained access and called what she saw "horrific human rights abuses" and "a horrific thing for us as a country." She confirmed the facility "is really only meant to hold people for 12 hours."

Connections to Broader Intelligence¶

Minneapolis — Judge Blackwell's Findings¶

On February 3, 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Jerry W. Blackwell revealed that the "overwhelming majority" of hundreds of people brought before him during Operation Metro Surge were lawfully present in the United States.

A DHS attorney, Julie Le, told the court her job "sucks" and that she sometimes wished the judge would hold her in contempt so she could get "a full 24 hours of sleep." She admitted receiving no proper training or orientation.

Judge Blackwell stated:

"The DOJ, the DHS, and ICE are not above the law. When court orders are not followed, it's not just the court's authority that's at issue. It is the rights of individuals in custody and the integrity of the constitutional system itself."

The Pattern¶

Baltimore is not an anomaly. It is the pattern:

Camp East Montana — 4 deaths in 9 months at a single facility
ICE Infrastructure Expansion — 150+ new leases, 8 regional detention centers planned, $80B budget
Agent Accountability Tracker — 0 agents voluntarily identified after shootings
Todd Lyons — Medical payment halt, inspection collapse, 96 court order violations
Stephen Miller — The architect. High school writings celebrating torture as "a celebration of life and human dignity"

The conditions described at Baltimore — overcrowding as a coercive tool, denial of sanitation, staff dehumanization, medical neglect — are not failures. They are features. The system is designed to break people until they abandon their legal rights.

Whistleblower's Own Words¶

The former worker made clear they are not an immigration activist:

"I'm for the deportation of illegal immigrants in this country, especially those that commit crimes. I have no problems with doing my job. I just have problems with the abuse and the treatment of the detainees."

They were hired to enforce immigration law. They were fired for reporting torture.

By the Numbers¶

Metric	Value
Max detainees in single cell	56
ICE policy max hold time	12 hours (waived to 72)
Actual hold times reported	48-72+ hours
Cell dimensions	~12 × 12 feet
Floor mats available	10-15 (for 50+ people)
Medical payments halted since	October 2025
Days without shower (per detainee)	10+
ICE denial	"Overcrowding does not happen"

Sources¶

Dossier opened February 12, 2026
Published by Mortui Vivos Docent Intelligence Project
Methodology: Bellingcat-standard OSINT — public sources only