12 House Democrats Sue Trump for Illegally Blocking ICE Oversight

A dozen congressional Democrats who have recently been barred from conducting oversight at federal immigration detention facilities said the Trump administration is "clearly violating the law" with a new policy limiting their ability to visit facilities, as they filed a lawsuit against top immigration officials on Wednesday.

Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) led lawmakers in filing the lawsuit a week after he and Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) were turned away from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Chantilly, Virginia. They had learned that the office was "holding, and routinely held" undocumented immigrants.

Under federal laws including Section 527 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, members of Congress are permitted to conduct "robust and effective oversight" of immigration detention facilities, the lawsuit reads, including in-person visits for which DHS and ICE do not need to be given prior notice.

In June, ICE announced new rules restricting visits by members of Congress—requiring them to give a week's notice before conducting an oversight visit and exempting ICE field offices from the oversight law.

Democracy Forward, which is representing the 12 lawmakers, noted that the restrictions were imposed "at a time when the administration is detaining more individuals than ever before—over 58,000 people—and reports of mistreatment, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and the detention of U.S. citizens are growing."

"The need for real-time, on-the-ground oversight has never been more urgent," said the group, emphasizing that at least 11 people have died in U.S. immigration custody since President Donald Trump took office.

Neguse, Thompson, and Raskin had heard reports of "poor conditions and overcrowding" at the field office in Chantilly—similar to reports Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) heard about a field office in Los Angeles that he tried to visit several times, only to be told by ICE officials that the office is "not a detention facility" and is therefore not subject to congressional oversight laws.

As Common Dreams reported last week, Human Rights Watch uncovered "abusive practices" at three immigration detention facilities in Florida, where detainees reported overcrowding, being shackled for long periods of time without access to food or water, being forced to sleep on cold concrete floors, and being denied access to basic hygiene and healthcare.

"No child should be sleeping on concrete, and no sick person should be denied care, yet that's exactly what we keep hearing is happening inside Trump's detention centers, including the one in my own district that set off national outrage and protests across the country," said Gomez. "I've tried repeatedly to get inside and conduct oversight, only to be turned away. When ICE and DHS block members of Congress, they're not just slamming the door on U.S. representatives, they're slamming it on the American people's right to know how their government is treating human beings with their tax dollars."

"This lawsuit is our message: We as members of Congress will do our job, and we will not let these agencies operate in the shadows," added Gomez.

Reps. Norma Torres and Raul Ruiz, both Democrats from California, tried to visit an ICE processing center in Adelanto, California, on July 11, only to be told by "an individual whom they believe to be an employee of the GEO Group (the private prison company that contracts with ICE to manage the Adelanto facility)" that they were "not approved for a visit."

Torres had made arrangements with ICE and had provided the agency with notice of the oversight visit the previous week, according to the lawsuit—suggesting that the Trump administration is not even adhering to the restrictions it has imposed.

"Donald Trump's extreme immigration agenda—attacking birthright citizenship and pushing for cruel, chaotic mass deportations—is dragging this country down a dark and dangerous path. We've already seen the consequences: so many reports of overcrowded, unsanitary ICE detention facilities where human dignity is treated as optional," said Torres. "I will continue to press for full access to these facilities and demand accountability from those responsible for their operation. No one is above the law—not even ICE."

Democratic politicians including Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) and Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka have been arrested following their attempts to conduct oversight at ICE facilities. McIver pleaded not guilty to several charges stemming from an incident in which she tried to intervene in Baraka's arrest. She has said her indictment is part of the Trump administration's campaign of "political intimidation."