A California congressman has invoked First Lady Melania Trump’s name in a sharp rebuke of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies, as tensions escalate over Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations that have swept through Los Angeles and other communities nationwide.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who represents California’s 34th District, including downtown Los Angeles and Koreatown, posted a pointed message on Monday, November 3, 2025, responding to the president’s assertion that ICE raids have not gone far enough. “Haven’t gone far enough?? Any further, and ICE will be deporting Melania…” Gomez wrote, referencing the Slovenian-born first lady.
The congressman’s comments came amid mounting criticism of ICE operations that have targeted immigrant communities in his district since early June. Gomez has been particularly vocal about conditions at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, where families have been detained in basement holding rooms under what he described as inhumane circumstances.
On Friday, June 6, 2025, Gomez issued a statement condemning the treatment of asylum seekers who were detained after appearing for routine check-ins with ICE at the federal building. According to the congressman, law-abiding families with pending asylum cases were held in basement rooms without food or water for extended periods, some overnight and up to 24 hours.
One attorney reported her client was held without food or water from 2 p.m. through the following day, while his wife and two children waited more than 12 hours without provisions or explanation. Gomez indicated that overcrowding had become so severe that women and children were forced to sleep outside in tents, while interior lights in the building shut off at 5 p.m., leaving families sitting in darkness.
The congressman detailed the case of a 20-year-old woman held alone after her mother was detained in transit. The family had been checking in with ICE for years, with their asylum process based on abuse claims. They were days away from a court date when both were detained, separated and left with their future uncertain.
“These are not criminals. These are families who followed the rules. Filed the paperwork. Showed up on time. Instead, they’re being treated like they broke the law just for seeking asylum,” Gomez stated in his June announcement.
The controversy extended beyond Los Angeles. In September 2025, Gomez formally protested to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over an immigration raid targeting Korean workers at the Hyundai-LG Energy Solution electric vehicle and battery plant construction site in Georgia. In a September 11 letter, the congressman demanded transparency regarding the legal basis for the operation conducted by ICE and Homeland Security Investigations.
Gomez sought clarification on the approval process, search warrant conditions, timing of immigration status checks, and whether lawful residents or U.S. citizens were detained during the sweep. He also questioned the legal distinction between voluntary departure and deportation, and whether those detained might face future visa consequences. The congressman gave DHS until September 26 to respond and warned that failure to do so could trigger a congressional hearing.
For two months, Gomez and fellow Democratic representatives Brad Sherman and Judy Chu were unable to access the downtown Los Angeles ICE processing center, known as B-18, prompting widespread complaints and a federal lawsuit. When they finally gained entry on Monday, August 11, 2025, following days of planning and advance notice, they found a facility that appeared deliberately emptied.
The facility, designed to hold up to 335 migrants, contained only two people in one holding room during the congressional visit. Sherman, Chu, and Gomez accused the government of sanitizing the center before their arrival. “They wanted to show us nothing. It was nothing. It was like no one was there. It was deliberate so members of Congress cannot conduct oversight,” Gomez told reporters at a news conference following the visit.
The lawmakers described nine holding rooms with concrete floors, no beds, and two toilets each. Chu indicated that while ICE detainees are supposed to be held for only 72 hours, she had heard accounts of people kept there for 12 days. She described the food pantry as scanty and noted reports of detainees lacking soap or toothbrushes.
Sergio Perez, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, visited Mexican national Narciso Barranco at the facility in June after Barranco had been held for three days. Perez said Barranco, whose three sons are U.S. Marines, did not receive medical attention despite being punched and pepper-sprayed during his arrest. Perez reported that rooms held 30 to 70 people at the time, with some forced to sleep standing up due to overcrowding.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin disputed the congressmembers’ characterizations, denying that individuals do not receive medical care and challenging Chu’s claim about the 12-day detention. McLaughlin wrote that politicians were now complaining about ICE processing facilities being too clean and maintained that the agency has higher detention standards than most U.S. prisons holding American citizens.
Gomez, the son of immigrants, has been a consistent advocate for immigrant families throughout his tenure. He filed an amicus brief earlier this year, urging the Court to uphold the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship, and has supported the Dream and Promise Act of 2025, which would provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status holders, and Deferred Enforced Departure recipients.