I recently traveled with my Hispanic Caucus colleagues to the Irwin County Detention Center - a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Ocilla, Georgia. We were there to investigate horrific allegations of women who said they were subjected to nonconsensual medical procedures.

Once inside, I spoke directly to these women and heard their painful stories. The things I heard were nothing short of jarring as they shared how little they knew of the procedures being done to them and the subsequent lasting health effects.

The Oversight Committee recently released a report detailing patterns of medical neglect, mistreatment, inadequate COVID-19 precautions, and death at ICE detention centers nationwide.

There are steps this administration should be taking right now to reform our immigration system, including increased oversight of detainee treatment, defunding private prisons, and significantly decreasing the number of detainees. Instead, they continue to reward these private detention centers with billion-dollar contracts.

As Vice Chair of the Oversight Committee, I'll be working with my colleagues to find pro bono legal representation for these women. While we continue investigating this administration, I will also be pushing for an end to federal contracts for private prisons as a cosponsor of the Justice is Not For Sale Act.

These stories should deeply concern all of us, and these women should be protected and released from ICE's custody immediately.