Sexual-assault testimony on ICE detention at San Antonio hearing (Oct. 2, 2026), Ossoff's tallies and access restrictions

Case

At an Oct. 2, 2026 congressional field hearing in San Antonio, Texas Immigration Law Council policy director Kristen Etter testified that women in ICE detention are being sexually assaulted, describing a rape kit and local prosecutors who reportedly declined the case over jurisdiction at a privately run ICE facility. Sen. Jon Ossoff's office reported 88 credible reports of physical and sexual abuse in immigration detention between Jan. 20, 2025 and Jan. 12, 2026, and federal courts have repeatedly found DHS limits on congressional and attorney access likely unlawful. DHS has denied allegations in Ossoff's earlier report.

What was said at the Oct. 2, 2026 hearing
On Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) held a congressional field hearing at the San Antonio Central Library to hear testimony on ICE's plan for an immigrant detention site on the city's East Side.
Kristen Etter, director of policy and legal services at the Texas Immigration Law Council, testified that women detained in ICE detention centers are being subjected to sexual assault.
Etter testified that her organization got a call last year from a sexual assault nurse examiner who had done a rape kit on a woman who said she was sexually assaulted in an ICE detention facility.
Etter said local prosecuting authorities would not accept the case because they said they did not have jurisdiction over that facility, which was operated by private contractors. She did not name the facility.
Etter described the facilities as "black sites" where it is nearly impossible to determine who is held where, why and in what conditions, and said that unlike the Bexar County Jail, the Dilley family detention facility has no public roster.
Asked by state Sen. Roland Gutierrez how many women had been raped inside ICE facilities, Priscilla Olivarez of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center said the number is unclear because operators make it hard for detainees to communicate with their lawyers.
Olivarez said federal funding that previously let nonprofits meet detainees weekly under the legal orientation program has since been decimated, and that many detainees who have attorneys cannot reach them.
Panel members, who also included state Sen. José Menéndez and state Rep. Barbra Gervin Hawkins (all Democrats), said they would share the testimony with colleagues in hopes of passing legislation to prevent assaults in ICE custody.
The San Antonio Current's report of the hearing does not include a response from ICE or DHS to Etter's account.

Sen. Ossoff's tallies of credible reports (since Jan. 20, 2025)
In a July 30, 2025 report, Sen. Jon Ossoff's office said it had received or identified 41 credible reports of physical and sexual abuse in U.S. immigration detention, 14 credible reports of mistreatment of pregnant women and 18 of mistreatment of children.
That report placed the physical and sexual abuse and mistreatment reports at facilities in 13 states, with the most in Texas (29 reports), Georgia (13) and California (12).
The July 2025 report cited public reports of at least four emergency calls since January 2025 from the South Texas ICE Processing Center referencing sexual abuse, and at least two from the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California referencing reported sexual assaults or threats of them.
A Jan. 27, 2026 report covering Jan. 20, 2025 to Jan. 12, 2026 counted 1,037 credible reports of human rights abuse in immigration detention, including 88 credible reports of physical and sexual abuse.
According to a WOLA summary of the January report, the same count includes 40 reports of mistreatment of children and 26 of mistreatment of pregnant women. The 88 is one combined category of physical and sexual abuse.
Ossoff's office said most of the 1,037 reports came from facilities in Texas (179 reports), Florida (168), California (146) and Georgia (137). Those totals cover all categories of abuse, not only sexual abuse.
The July 2025 report said the credible reports it listed were not exhaustive and that DHS obstruction of congressional oversight had impeded site visits and detainee interviews.
DHS denied the allegations in the July 2025 report, according to Guardian reporting.

Restrictions on congressional and attorney access
Federal law passed annually since 2019 prohibits DHS from using appropriated funds to block lawmakers from unannounced oversight visits to immigration detention facilities; Congress enacted it after lawmakers were blocked from facilities in 2018.
In December 2025, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb stayed a DHS policy requiring members of Congress to give seven days' notice before visiting immigration detention facilities, finding it likely violates federal law.
On Feb. 2, 2026, Cobb blocked a revised version of the policy for a second time, finding it still likely violates federal law and that DHS's attempt to fund it only with reconciliation-act money was likely inadequate.
DHS and ICE argued in court that advance-notice requirements are necessary for safety and operational security while still permitting oversight.
Sen. Chris Murphy said he was denied entry to a DHS facility in San Antonio in January 2026 despite giving 24 hours' notice, and Rep. John Larson said he was denied entry at the Burlington, Vermont facility.
On Dec. 2, 2025, Sens. John Hickenlooper and Jon Ossoff opened an inquiry into DHS obstruction of congressional oversight, citing numerous publicly reported examples of members of Congress and staff facing obstructed access to ICE facilities.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he was turned away from the Broadview, Illinois ICE facility on Oct. 8 and 13, 2025, and was able to visit on Dec. 19, 2025 after the first Cobb ruling.
In February 2026, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel (D. Minn.) found ICE had blocked thousands of people from seeing their lawyers during an enforcement surge in Minnesota and ordered it to allow attorney-client visits and private calls. DHS said detainees have phone access.
A preliminary injunction order on attorney access followed in the same case.
On March 21, 2025, DHS issued reduction-in-force notices to nearly all staff at its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman and the CIS Ombudsman.
DHS's fiscal 2026 budget request said the detention ombudsman office had been eliminated in its entirety, per Mother Jones; the administration argues the oversight offices have not been eliminated.

The proposed East Side detention site
ICE bought a warehouse at 542 SE Loop 410 on San Antonio's East Side earlier in 2026 and plans to use it to hold up to 1,500 detainees at a time; ICE reportedly spent $66 million on the purchase.
In a Feb. 23, 2026 letter to DHS, Castro, Reps. Henry Cuellar and Greg Casar, Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, Commissioner Tommy Calvert and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones opposed the facility, saying the plan could include roughly 1,500 beds.
Mayor Jones and eight City Council members called for a special meeting to seek independent utility environmental assessments and for the city to do everything in its power, up to a lawsuit, to stop construction.
Castro said he has visited the Dilley family detention center nine times this year.
Councilwoman Phyllis Viagran said the council would receive an update on the East Side plan later in October.

Perspectives

Critic — Kristen Etter, Texas Immigration Law Council
Women in ICE detention are being sexually assaulted, and the privately run sites operate as "black sites" with no public roster, so it is nearly impossible to know who is held where and in what conditions. In the case she described, local prosecutors declined a rape-kit case because they said they lacked jurisdiction over a contractor-run ICE facility.

Critic — Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.)
His office's reports show "an undeniable pattern of human rights abuse in immigration detention," including physical and sexual abuse, and DHS obstruction of congressional oversight has limited site visits and detainee interviews, so the credible reports received are not exhaustive.

Official position — DHS and ICE
DHS has denied the allegations in Ossoff's July 2025 report, says it takes allegations of misconduct seriously, and argued in court that advance notice for congressional visits is necessary for safety and operational security while still permitting oversight.

Research notes
Open leads: the name of the facility and the local prosecutors in Etter's account; any ICE or DHS response to it; comment from the Texas Immigration Law Council. No Ossoff tally newer than January 2026 was found as of Oct. 12, 2026 (he still cited "more than 1,000" reports at an Oct. 9 debate). Possible primary sources for Texas-specific counts: DHS CRCL complaint data and ICE PREA incident data via FOIA; ICE contract data for privately run Texas facilities.

Note
The facility and the prosecutors in Etter's account are unnamed and the coverage found includes no ICE or DHS response to it; DHS has denied allegations in Ossoff's earlier report.

Sources
[1] San Antonio Current (Michael Karlis), "Testimony: Women sexually assaulted in ICE detention sites in Texas" (https://www.sacurrent.com/news/politics-and-elections/testimony-women-sexually-assaulted-in-ice-detention-sites-in-texas/) · 2026-10-02
[2] Sen. Jon Ossoff, "The Abuse of Pregnant Women & Children in U.S. Immigration Detention" (report) (https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/250721_Pregnancy_Report_v7.pdf) · 2025-07-30
[3] Sen. Jon Ossoff, immigration detention oversight report (Jan. 2026) (https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/260114_Report_Patterns_v5.pdf) · 2026-01-27
[4] Sen. Jon Ossoff, press release on the January 2026 report (https://www.ossoff.senate.gov/press-releases/new-sen-ossoff-investigation-uncovers-over-1000-credible-reports-of-human-rights-abuses-in-immigration-detention/) · 2026-01-27
[5] WOLA, U.S.-Mexico Border Update (category breakdown of Ossoff's January report) (https://www.wola.org/2026/02/u-s-mexico-border-update-detention-warehouses-dhs-organizational-culture-impending-shudown-tps/) · 2026-02
[6] The Guardian (via AOL), report on abuse of pregnant women and children at ICE facilities (https://www.aol.com/news/horrific-report-reveals-abuse-pregnant-155120718.html) · 2025-08
[7] JURIST, "Federal judge again blocks limits on lawmakers' ICE detention facility visits" (https://www.jurist.org/news/2026/02/federal-judge-again-blocks-limits-on-lawmakers-ice-detention-visits/) · 2026-02-02
[8] Newsweek, "ICE Suffers Legal Blow Over Blocking Detention Center Visits" (https://www.newsweek.com/ice-legal-blow-blocking-detention-center-visits-11234552) · 2025-12-19
[9] Rep. John Larson's office, "Two Connecticut lawmakers tried visiting ICE facilities; both say they were turned away" (https://larson.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/two-connecticut-lawmakers-tried-visiting-ice-facilities-both-say-they-were) · 2026-01-30
[10] Sens. Hickenlooper and Ossoff, inquiry into DHS obstruction of congressional oversight (https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/hickenlooper-ossoff-launch-inquiry-into-dhs-obstruction-of-congressional-oversight) · 2025-12-02
[11] Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, press release on Broadview oversight visit (https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-krishnamoorthi-conducts-oversight-visit-broadview-ice-facility) · 2025-12-19
[12] Reuters (via Missouri Lawyers Media), "Judge orders ICE to restore detainees' lawyer access in Minnesota" (https://molawyersmedia.com/2026/02/16/judge-orders-ice-restore-lawyer-access-minnesota/) · 2026-02-16
[13] D. Minn., preliminary injunction order on attorney access (TAHR v. DHS) (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mnd.230969/gov.uscourts.mnd.230969.178.0.pdf) · 2026-03
[14] WOLA/KBI, "Denouncing Into the Void: The Dismantling of Internal Oversight and Accountability at DHS" (https://www.wola.org/analysis/denouncing-into-the-void-the-dismantling-of-internal-oversight-and-accountability-at-dhs/) · 2025
[15] Mother Jones, "How the Trump administration gutted immigration detention oversight" (https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/how-the-trump-administration-gutted-immigration-detention-oversight/) · 2026-05
[16] Yahoo News, "Cuts to DHS watchdogs spark more questions as deportation efforts increase" (https://www.yahoo.com/news/cuts-dhs-watchdogs-spark-more-080025994.html)
[17] San Antonio Current, march against East Side ICE detention center and Castro's Dilley visits (https://www.sacurrent.com/?p=424113) · 2026-10
[18] San Antonio Current, mayor and council majority unite against East Side ICE detention center (https://www.sacurrent.com/news/san-antonio-news/san-antonio-mayor-majority-of-city-council-unite-against-east-side-ice-detention-center/) · 2026-10
[19] Rep. Joaquin Castro et al., letter to DHS opposing East Side ICE facility (https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-castro-cuellar-casar-bexar-county-judge-sakai-commissioner-calvert-san-antonio-mayor-jones-press-dhs-on-proposed-ice-facility) · 2026-02-23
[20] Mother Jones, report on ICE/CBP agents accused of abusing women and children (DHS statement) (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/07/report-ice-abuse-women-children-ohio/) · 2026-07

Connections

Related — "Alligator Alcatraz": Florida's state-run detention site and the FEMA money behind it (2025-2026)
Both concern new detention capacity and transparency over who runs it and how it is funded; Florida was among the top states in Ossoff's January 2026 tally.

Same context — DHS "hunt them down" messaging and enforcement harms to U.S. citizens
Both concern DHS enforcement practices and their harms; that entry covers official messaging and wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens.

Same context — HSI search of Rep. Ilhan Omar's home (Oct. 12, 2026)
Both concern members of Congress and DHS: that entry covers limits on lawmakers' oversight access to ICE facilities, and this one includes Omar's Aug. 2026 oversight letter to HSI over an undercover agent at her town hall.

Same context — ICE agent conduct, vetting and accountability during the 2025-2026 hiring surge
Both concern accountability for ICE personnel and conduct during the 2025-2026 expansion; that entry covers vetting, training and use of force.

Shared mechanism — ICE detention funding surge and private contractor revenue (2025-2026)
Etter's account involves a contractor-operated facility and the proposed East Side site would add detention capacity; that entry documents the funding and private contractors behind the expansion.

Related — Marble Hill ICE shooting and removal of Oscar Belgal from hospital (Oct. 2026)
Both concern ICE use of force and custody practices and the limits on outside scrutiny of them.

Same context — Ohio Immigrant Alliance "Worst of the Worst" report: 152 DHS agents and contractors accused of abuse
Both concern abuse allegations tied to DHS enforcement; the OIA list counts accused agents and contractors, while this entry covers reports of abuse of detainees and limits on oversight.