Stories of ICE agents arresting people across the country have become so common that it almost feels unusual to go a day without hearing about one. Many of these encounters end with heartbreaking footage of desperate individuals being dragged away, only to disappear behind the closed doors of detention centers. What happens to them afterward often remains a mystery. Recently, however, a leaked video from inside an ICE detention facility near Houston, Texas, has started spreading online and it offers a disturbing look at what those detained might be enduring.
In the footage, dozens of men and women can be seen lying side by side on the cold, hard floor, packed so tightly together they look like rows of sardines. There are no beds in sight. Instead, the detainees are wrapped in thin silver thermal blankets, the same kind used in emergency situations, trying to stay warm. The video shows that there are no individual rooms, only one large shared cell where everyone is forced to live together around the clock.
As if that were not enough, reports claim the air conditioning inside the facility is kept permanently on its maximum setting, intentionally lowering the temperature to uncomfortable levels. This explains why so many of the detainees are seen huddling close together beneath their reflective blankets, shivering to conserve warmth.
The video also appears to show that there are no visible bathrooms inside the cell. Viewers were left wondering whether these people were given any chance to bathe or maintain basic hygiene. The lack of privacy, comfort, and dignity was hard to watch.
Once the footage went viral, the internet erupted in shock and anger. Many described what they saw as outright cruelty. “Cruelty is the point,” one user wrote, arguing that ICE and its leadership have long operated without regard for human rights. Another commenter said, “Absolutely sickening, inhumane treatment. Even dogs in shelters are treated better than this.”
Others reflected on what the video suggests about the state of the country. Many felt it showed how far the United States has fallen, pointing to the return of racism, hate, and discrimination as proof that the nation has not learned from its own history. Some even said the situation had grown so dire that they were thinking about leaving the country altogether, describing it as a place that no longer feels safe or humane.
Several online users also questioned where all the federal funding for ICE was going, suggesting that corruption might explain the facility’s terrible conditions. “The billions of dollars given to ICE, and this is how their detention centers look? You just know that money is being siphoned into private pockets,” one comment read.
