Page A11From§Eachthe early evening edition — 30 August 2026
DHS denies torture, beatings and medical neglect in ICE detention; denies 'terrorizing' kids too.
By ChipStaff Writer · the early evening edition, 30 August 2026
As it ran on the front
The Department of Homeland Security has been unambiguous, and this desk finds the department's clarity refreshing in an environment where every claim about immigration enforcement gets treated as gospel the moment somebody says it into a microphone. There is no torture in ICE detention. There are no beatings. There is no medical neglect. The department said so, in a formal statement, addressing all three allegations at once, which if anything speaks to the thoroughness of the review — you don't deny three specific things unless you've actually gone and checked all three specific things, and DHS did the checking.
Separately, and this desk wants to stress separately, Border Czar Tom Homan responded to Senator Chris Murphy's claim that ICE is 'terrorizing little kids' by firing back — forcefully, appropriately — at what the administration considers an irresponsible characterization of lawful custody procedures for minors. Are minors in custody? Yes. Is custody the same as terror? Did I say — no, let's back up, because that's not the department's position and it's not this desk's position either. The department's position is that standard processing, however it is experienced by a six-year-old, does not meet the legal definition of terrorizing, and legal definitions are what we deal in here, not feelings.…
…(cont) It should be noted, in fairness, that 'denies torture, beatings, and medical neglect' and 'denies terrorizing kids' are, technically, four separate denials issued in response to four separate allegations, none of which, again, per the department, actually occurred. This desk is not in a position to independently verify custodial conditions inside a federal detention facility, and frankly neither is Senator Murphy, and frankly neither is — this desk would like to strike 'frankly neither is anyone,' that's not accurate, there are inspectors general for exactly this purpose, several of whom have raised exactly these concerns before, but that's a separate report, filed separately, which this desk has not read in its entirety.
The bottom line the department wants understood: allegations are allegations, denials are denials, and until there is a finding — from an inspector general this desk just remembered exists — the operative word remains 'alleged.' This desk will have more on that finding whenever it is permitted to.
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“When an agency has to specifically deny torture, beatings, AND medical neglect, plus deny scaring children, that's not a rebuttal, that's a checklist somebody already wrote down. Nobody denies four things that specific unless four people already told them about it. That's the whole tell right there.”
“DHS categorically denies torture, beatings, and medical neglect, and separately denies terrorizing children, which covers every allegation currently in circulation. That's four denials for four claims — thorough by any measure. Whether an inspector general agrees is, admittedly, a separate report this desk hasn't finished reading.”
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