A group of congressional Democrats filed a lawsuit Wednesday demanding unfettered access to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, saying the deportation agency is illegally blocking them from getting a first-hand look at what’s going on.
Congress wrote a law in 2019 guaranteeing members of Congress the right to inspect ICE facilities with no prior notice. But the lawmakers said they’ve been blocked in recent days.
“Adherence to the rule of law requires that Plaintiffs be permitted to conduct their congressionally authorized oversight activities, notwithstanding DHS’ unlawful efforts to thwart scrutiny of its facilities,” the lawmakers said in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington.
One major point of contention is whether the 2019 law grants members of Congress access to any ICE office or just to detention facilities.
The agency says it’s only detention, and it has blocked lawmakers who have shown up at ICE field offices trying to get a look at officers in the middle of their work.
In one July 21 visit, a delegation of Democrats went to the field office in Chantilly, Virginia, for a surprise visit.
They were told they could see the lobby but not any other areas.
The Democrats, in their lawsuit, said migrants were being processed for detention at the field office, so it should have been open to congressional inspection.
ICE has been battling an onslaught of criticism from Democrats who say the agency is straining the law to comply with President Trump’s demand for mass deportations.
For its part, ICE says Democrats’ overheated rhetoric is putting targets on its officers, contributing to a massive increase in assaults as they go into communities to make arrests.
ICE announced its new policy on congressional visits after an incident in New Jersey, where several Democratic House members pushed their way into a detention facility.
Rep. LaMonica McIver, New Jersey Democrat, now faces criminal charges of assaulting ICE officers after she was caught on video appearing to throw elbows at agents.
She has pleaded not guilty.
