DHS sets strict limits on lawmaker visits to immigration detention centers

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has tightened rules for members of Congress visiting immigration detention centers. The new policy requires lawmakers to give up to a week’s notice before they can access these facilities, creating fresh tension between federal immigration officials and Democratic lawmakers.

Previously, under federal law, members of Congress could enter Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities without advance notice to conduct oversight visits. Staff were only required to provide 24 hours’ notice. The updated guidance from ICE, released this month, asks lawmakers to give at least 72 hours’ notice — with the Department of Homeland Security going even further, saying visits should ideally be arranged seven days in advance.

New Requirements
Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, said in a statement that a week’s notice would “ensure no intrusion on the president’s constitutional authority.” McLaughlin added that any request to visit sooner must first be approved by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The policy also states ICE can cancel, reschedule, or deny visits if it has “operational concerns” or if facility managers decide a visit is not appropriate. Another change says ICE field offices are no longer subject to the law allowing lawmakers to make surprise visits — a key part of the federal oversight process.

Growing Tensions
The updated policy comes after tense visits by elected officials to immigration detention sites. In recent months, lawmakers in California, Illinois, and New York reported being kept outside ICE centers for hours. Some were denied entry entirely, even after they had scheduled visits in advance.

New Jersey Representative LaMonica McIver and other Democratic lawmakers were among those recently barred from entering an ICE facility in Newark. On the same day, Newark’s mayor, Ras Baraka, was briefly arrested when he tried to join the congressional delegation.

Criticism From Democrats
Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, top Democrat on the House Committee on Homeland Security, called the new restrictions illegal and unconstitutional. “This guidance is an affront to the Constitution and federal law,” Thompson said in a statement. “We have an obligation to oversee these taxpayer-funded facilities, and this policy is designed to shut us out.”

The issue has already sparked complaints from elected leaders across party lines. Some Republicans have also expressed concern about restrictions that could limit their oversight power.

Next Steps
With lawmakers and federal agencies on a collision course over transparency, legal challenges and further protests are expected. Many lawmakers have already indicated they will continue to press for access to ICE facilities without delays.

The new policy is expected to face scrutiny in Congress in the coming weeks as the Biden administration responds to the growing controversy.