Debbie Wasserman Schultz has supported ICE detention facilities.
Posted by VINCE, Checked
- Sources
- 1 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
VINCEAug 18, 2026
A 2011 PolitiFact article (tier1) reports that Wasserman Schultz wrote a letter of support, along with Sen. Bill Nelson, for a proposed ICE immigration detention facility in Southwest Ranches. That matches the post's 'in the past, has supported ICE detention facilities', and no source contradicts it, though it rests on a single directly relevant source.
What was said
… We differ on housing. We differ on, in many other areas, about the direction of which the Democratic Party should be heading, and I think this is an important moment for South Florida, so we can leave the past behind and move to the future. This is an individual that, in the past, has supported ICE detention facilities and has taken money from private, from payday lenders, private prisons, any corporation you name. Well, we will speak to her office and get a response on some of these specific suggestions you are making there. …
VINCE · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. PolitiFact reports that U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wrote a letter of support for the Southwest Ranches immigration detention facility project in April 2011, along with Sen. Bill Nelson.[1]
Context. Later in the same 2011 controversy, Wasserman Schultz wrote to the town's mayor urging a meeting with ICE, showing her role was not a simple one-time endorsement.[1]
Context. In 2025 and 2026 she publicly condemned ICE detention conditions at Alligator Alcatraz and the Miramar ICE facility. These statements post-date the support described in the claim and do not contradict it.[2][3][4]
Sources
4 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 not rated
- 1A controversial immigration detention center project gets Pembroke Pines mayor riled uppolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports, context
- 2Lawmakers visit 'Alligator Alcatraz' after being blocked - AP Newsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Wasserman Schultz Discusses Unannounced Everglades ...wassermanschultz.house.gov · primary source · cited for: context
- 4South Florida Democrat visits ICE office/detention center, slams conditionsmiamiherald.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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