OTERO COUNTY, New Mexico (Border Report) – A congressman from New Mexico says an immigrant detention facility in his district is “bursting at the seams,” and he blames that largely on the Trump administration’s penchant for confining migrants who have not committed serious crimes.

“What we saw at this facility today is that more than 80 percent of the detainees here have no criminal convictions, no pending criminal charges. We also saw non-working phones, non-working toilets,” said U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-New Mexico.

The comments came after the federal lawmaker who conducted an oversight visit of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Otero County on Wednesday afternoon.

Vasquez wanted to see the installation, check reports of the migrants not having access to legal representation and hear their concerns. He says he got a tour of an empty dormitory, an empty kitchen and was not allowed to talk to migrants.

“That’s one of the things we saw today, the lack of access to advocacy services and legal services. If you don’t come in with a couple of (dollars) in your pocket, you can’t even use the phone,” Vasquez told Border Report after the visit. “Those folks can’t make their case in court if they don’t have access to those legal services or those advocates.”

Records show the ICE Otero County Processing Center has a maximum capacity of 1,089 detainees. Vasquez said he was told the facility is holding 1,100 individuals now, and that more are on the way.

“This facility is essentially bursting at the seams. They are at full capacity now, they were over capacity just a few weeks ago and they’re going to continue to receive more detainees from the rest of the country,” he said. “When it comes to questions like where those detainees are coming from, we didn’t get clear answers. They say it’s overflow from other detention centers.”

Border Report reached out to ICE for comment after business hours and is awaiting a response.

Earlier, in neighboring El Paso County, Texas, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said she was denied entry to an ICE facility in El Paso. On Wednesday, she announced that a dozen members of Congress sued to assert their rights to conduct oversight at federal facilities.

As for the assertion that the overwhelming majority of migrants and undocumented immigrants detained and facing deportation have not committed crimes, a GOP senator disputed that at a Senate committee hearing this month.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said at a Judiciary Committee hearing that coming illegally into the country is a crime. He also said “illegal aliens” cannot expect the same level of due process as American citizens.