The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued updated guidelines governing access to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities by members of Congress and their staff.
According to the new policy released this week, congressional staff must now provide at least 24 hours’ advance notice before visiting ICE detention centers. Additionally, any visit to an ICE field office must be coordinated in advance, as those locations are not considered subject to congressional oversight protections under federal law.
While the policy acknowledges that Section 527 of the FY2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act allows lawmakers to visit detention facilities without prior notice, it explicitly prohibits access to ICE field offices without prior DHS approval, The Epoch Times reported.
“ICE Field Offices are not detention facilities and fall outside of the Sec. 527 requirements,” the guidelines state. Lawmakers will still be able to request visits to ICE field offices, but they must submit their requests at least 72 hours in advance. Only individuals approved through the visitor engagement process will be permitted to participate.
Additionally, while Section 527 grants members of Congress the right to access ICE detention facilities without prior notice, DHS maintains the authority to temporarily deny entry under “exigent circumstances,” including operational or security-related concerns, the outlet reported.
The new policy follows a series of recent ICE facility visits by Democratic lawmakers, some of which turned contentious. In May, three Democratic members of Congress, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and a group of protesters reportedly “stormed the gate” of an ICE detention center in Newark, according to a DHS spokesperson who said the incident posed a threat to public safety.
Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) defended the group’s actions, stating they were carrying out their “lawful oversight responsibilities” and accused federal agents of escalating the confrontation. But she has since been charged by U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Habba, after video showed her allegedly pushing and assaulting ICE agents.
“The guidelines say that field offices are not detention facilities but only places where aliens are processed, and so they are not subject to the Section 527 requirement,” The Epoch Times noted further.