ICE Bars Surprise Visits. Congress Isn’t Having It.
Democrats say ICE is unlawfully blocking detention site inspections — and warn subpoenas could follow (eventually)
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers are demanding that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescind new policies that they say unlawfully restrict congressional access to immigration detention facilities.
In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, Ranking Member Robert Garcia and 21 other House Democrats criticized the agency’s June 18 guidance and subsequent revisions, which they argue obstruct Congress’s constitutional oversight authority.
The lawmakers wrote, “We write to demand that DHS immediately rescind this policy, stop its efforts to impede congressional oversight, and provide information to hold accountable those responsible for initiating and advancing this unlawful attempt to stop Congress from fulfilling its constitutional mandate.”
The original June 18 guidance issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) imposed “arbitrary restrictions on congressional inspections of detention facilities,” according to the letter. A subsequent DHS policy stated that “an…