In a letter to Maryland’s senators, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security blamed extended wait times at its controversial Baltimore holding room on a state law that shuttered longer-term ICE facilities inside Maryland.

Homeland Department Secretary Kristi Noem also wrote in her June 5 letter that the detainees in the Baltimore facility designed for short stays are treated with “respect and dignity” and are housed to meet required federal standards.

Details from the letter were revealed Wednesday by Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, who had written to the Trump administration months ago about their concerns over conditions at the Baltimore holding room.

The Banner first reported in April about people detained by ICE who had been spending multiple days at the facility in a room that attorneys said is not equipped or authorized for overnight detention.

The senators on Wednesday criticized Noem’s “significantly delayed response” which left them with “more questions than answers.”

The senators also chided Noem for failing to say whether ICE has plans to alleviate overcrowding and improve overall conditions at the Baltimore holding room.

Noem failed to produce the waiver her department had said allows it to suspend their own standard 12-hour detention rule for such temporary holding rooms, and then “offer excuses for their inadequacies in preparing for an increase in detainees,” according to the senators.

The senators added that “upholding our immigration laws can be done safely, smartly, and above all humanely. ... We will continue working to hold DHS accountable.”

In March, staffers for Alsobrooks and Van Hollen toured the Baltimore holding room at issue and described “appalling” conditions.

In addition, two immigrant plaintiffs are now suing DHS over the conditions they experienced in a holding room while in ICE custody at the Fallon Federal Building, the location of ICE’s Baltimore field office.

Maryland’s attorney general earlier this month filed his formal support of the immigrants’ cause, urging a federal judge in court papers to prevent ICE from keeping detainees in the hold room for more than 12 hours. The case is pending.

The two unnamed plaintiffs, both women from Central America, allege they were given limited access to water and food and were denied medical attention, including access to medication for their ailments, while in ICE custody.

After their own separate visit, the Maryland senators’ staff said they found no infirmary or medical staff on-site; no food service contract, leading to makeshift meals; and no traditional beds, leaving detainees to use emergency foil blankets and inflatable beds.