Seeking answers about death at Broward ICE center, congresswomen say they encounter ‘hostility and evasiveness’

U.S. Reps. Frederica Wilson, left, and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick speak after visiting the ICE Broward Transitional Center on Friday, May 2, 2025. The visit was prompted by the death of detainee Marie Blaise. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

By  | [email protected] | South Florida Sun Sentinel

Two members of Congress said Friday their efforts to learn more about the death of a detainee at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Broward were stonewalled by staff at the facility.

Their questions about the medical care at the Broward Transitional Center were met with “hostility and evasiveness,” U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick told reporters outside the center after she and U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson spent an hour and 35 minutes inside.

The facility’s staff “refused to give us complete and clear answers,” Cherfilus-McCormick said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s efforts to round up and deport people who aren’t in the country legally, hasn’t provided much information about the death of Marie Ange Blaise, a 44-year-old Haitian citizen.

ICE posted a “detainee death notification” press release on Tuesday. It said Blaise was in its custody when “pronounced deceased by medical professionals” at the Broward Transitional Center on April 25, at 8:35 p.m. “The cause of death is under investigation.”

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