Family detention centers near the border are best described as "summer camp," a top official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in testimony to Congress on Tuesday.

"With regard to the [family detention centers], I think the best way to describe them is to be more like a summer camp," Matt Albence, an executive associate director at ICE, said in pushing back at allegations that people being held in ICE custody have suffered physical, emotional and at times sexual abuse.

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Albence listed numerous services the centers provide, including access to education, basketball courts, exercise classes, soccer fields and “extensive” medical, dental and mental health opportunities.

“I’m very comfortable with the level of service and protection that’s being provided” in the family residential centers, Albence told the Senate Judiciary Committee.