Democrats sue Trump administration over access to immigration facilities
The lawmakers say in the complaint that they each 'attempted to obtain information about conditions at a DHS [Department of Homeland Security] facility used to detain or otherwise house noncitizens … by visiting a facility in person, or by giving DHS notice of imminent plans to do so, for the purpose of conducting realtime oversight of that facility.' Each attempted visit was blocked by the administration, according to the complaint.
The administration now requires a minimum seven-day advance notice to schedule a visit to the facilities 'absent authorization by the secretary of DHS,' and 'deems certain DHS facilities, including [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] field offices, off-limits for congressional oversight even when they are used for detention,' according to the complaint. The Democrats allege that the new restrictions on lawmakers' access are unlawful.
DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the members of Congress suing the administration 'could have just scheduled a tour.' She also sought to tie the visits to 'a surge in assaults, disruptions and obstructions to enforcement' aimed at ICE officers, saying that some of those disruptive actions have been made by members of Congress.
The legal effort follows attempts by members of the party to access the growing number of sites used in President Donald Trump's sweeping nationwide immigration crackdown, visits that have led to confrontations and the indictment of one Democratic member of Congress. It marks an escalation in a political battle over an issue that polls suggest has started to sour for the president.
Immigration arrests have risen substantially across the country as the administration has tried to deliver on Trump's campaign promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. Amid reports of overcrowding and poor conditions in some facilities, Democratic lawmakers attempting to access some sites have often been denied entry.
In June, a federal grand jury indicted Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-New Jersey) for allegedly interfering with law enforcement during a confrontation outside an immigration detention center in Newark. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D) was arrested and charged with trespassing after that May attempt to visit the facility with a Democratic congressional delegation that included McIver.
Days after McIver's indictment, the Department of Homeland Security issued a new policy limiting congressional lawmakers' access to ICE facilities, a move that Democrats criticized as a violation of their right to conduct oversight.
Wednesday's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, names ICE and its acting director, Todd Lyons, as well as DHS and its secretary, Kristi L. Noem, as defendants.
The plaintiffs are Reps. Joe Neguse and Jason Crow of Colorado; Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat of New York; Bennie G. Thompson (Mississippi); Jamie Raskin (Maryland); Veronica Escobar (Texas); and Robert Garcia, Lou Correa, Jimmy Gomez, Raul Ruiz and Norma J. Torres of California.
In their lawsuit, the Congress members said they were especially worried about people being held inside field offices.
'As the number of arrested and detained individuals grows beyond the capacity of existing ICE detention facilities, DHS has resorted to using ICE field offices to detain or otherwise house noncitizens,' the complaint says. 'The conditions of confinement at field offices are of particular concern because field offices are not designed nor set up to be facilities in which individuals are detained or housed.'
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), in a statement Wednesday, called the litigation a 'first-of-its-kind lawsuit asserting our constitutional responsibility to serve as a check-and-balance on the executive branch and its weaponization of immigration enforcement.'
Congressional access to facilities was also an issue during Trump's first term, as Democrats denounced the administration's family separation policy.
In their lawsuit, the Democrats reference a 1985 opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel — the lead legal corps within the executive branch — that 'it is beyond dispute that Congress may conduct investigations in order to obtain facts pertinent to possible legislation and in order to evaluate the effectiveness of current laws.'
Since the family separation crisis, the lawmakers note, Congress had adopted statutory provisions each year providing that no funds appropriated to DHS may be used to prevent a member of Congress 'from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens.'
Other local officials have been arrested while trying to observe or intervene in the increasing number of immigration arrests at courthouses, including New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander.
In another high-profile incident, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) was forcefully removed, forced to the ground and handcuffed last month after attempting to ask Noem a question.
The incidents — which Democrats call demands for transparency and Republicans call publicity stunts — come amid a broader pushback against the administration's immigration crackdown, including nationwide protests.
A Gallup poll conducted in June found Americans dislike Trump's handling of immigration by a wide margin. Sixty-two percent gave him negative marks on how he has managed the issue, while 35 percent graded him positively.
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