The Department of Homeland Security slammed NBC News with a fact check Friday after the media outlet published numerous claims regarding health conditions in ICE detention centers.
The agency called out NBC News specifically after it reported that detainees across the country were being underfed and that the facilities are too crowded, among other complaints.
The report quoted several detainees.
Alfredo Parada Calderon, a Salvadoran national detained for almost a year, complained to NBC about the flavorless meat he was allegedly fed.
“It looks like little, small pebbles, and that will be the ounces that they give you,” Calderon said.
A woman named Rubimar, whose husband was recently deported to Venezuela, also complained about the food her husband allegedly received in detention.
“He tells me many are given two spoonfuls of rice and that many are still hungry,” Rubimar said without giving a last name.
The Department of Homeland Security blasted NBC News in its press release.
“Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is setting the record straight on NBC’s false claims that illegal aliens who are held at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities are receiving inadequate amounts of food,” the release read.
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“All detainees are provided with proper meals, medical treatment and have opportunities to communicate with their family members and lawyers,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin was quoted as saying.
“Meals are certified by dieticians. Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE. Why does the media continue to push the lies of criminal illegal aliens in detention and villainize ICE law enforcement?” McLaughlin said.
🧵FACT CHECK. DHS is setting the record straight on NBC’s FALSE claims that illegal aliens who are held at ICE detention facilities are receiving inadequate amounts of food. pic.twitter.com/8MaRmIOHmQ
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 14, 2025
In total, ICE fact-checked four of NBC’s claims.
One allegation said that in April, 57 detainees at a facility in Tacoma, Washington, were struck with foodborne illness after reportedly eating reheated collard greens.
The facility notified the Health Department about the incident, and according to NBC News, the collard greens tested positive for Bacillus cereus, which causes food illness.
ICE partially refuted the claim.
“While the Health Department was notified, the on-site medical team concluded that there was no evidence linking the illness to a specific food item, as claimed by the detainees,” the news release said.
NBC News also reported that detainees’ portion sizes are smaller than they were last year, and that they sometimes aren’t fed dinner until midnight.
“Allegations that there are chronic food shortages are unequivocally false. Each ICE facility’s Food Service Operations Director conducts a review of food portions, and detainees are being fed the portions as prescribed by the nutritionist, based on a daily 2400 to 2600 caloric intake,” ICE said in its news release.
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