A Friday letter signed by several Democratic lawmakers representing New York and addressed to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem accuses Immigration and Customs Enforcement of "continued obstruction of lawful congressional oversight visits," citing recent failed attempts by lawmakers to access an ICE field office at 26 Federal Plaza, an area where they suspect immigrants are being held for multiple days.
"Congressional oversight is essential to bring transparency to the conduct of the Department of Homeland Security," the letter states. "Given the overaggressive and excessive force used to handcuff and detain elected officials in public, DHS's refusal to allow members of Congress to observe the conditions for immigrants behind closed doors begs the obvious question: What are you hiding?"
The letter is also addressed to Todd Lyons, ICE's acting director.
26 Federal Plaza is the same building where Democratic mayoral candidate and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander was arrested by federal agents on Tuesday. Lander was released later that same day.
The signatories on the letter are Democratic New York Reps. Dan Goldman, Jerrold Nadler, Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez, Ritchie Torres, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Grace Meng, Gregory Meeks, and Yvette Clarke.
According to The New York Times, which was first to report on the letter, the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza has a field office "where immigration authorities have typically held a few dozen immigrants at a time for a few hours before transferring them to detention centers."
However, the Times reported last week that an immigrant who had stayed on the 10th floor recounted hundreds of migrants sleeping on the floor.
In their letter, lawmakers highlight federal statute that stipulates that DHS may not use funds in order 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."
DHS recently issued new guidance placing more limits on lawmakers' ability to visit ICE facilities—a move that has been met with criticism. The new rules say that ICE requests members of Congress give at least 72 hours advance notice for a visit to its facilities, rather than 24 hours. Also, the guidance states that ICE field offices, like the one at 26 Federal Plaza, are not subject to federal law that dictates congressional oversight.
"In any rational interpretation, the law gives us access not only to detention centers, but to any immigration enforcement facility housing detainees—no matter what ICE chooses to call the facility," wrote Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a signatory on the Friday letter, reacting to the new guidance on Wednesday.
DHS's new guidance states that "ICE field offices are not detention facilities and fall outside of the Sec. 527 requirements. ICE does not house aliens at field offices."
In their letter, the lawmakers take issue with this assertion. They say that ICE Deputy Field Director Bill Joyce recently confirmed that some individuals have been held at 26 Federal Plaza for multiple days. The Times also reported that Joyce said this during a short encounter with Reps. Goldman and Nadler, when the two were denied access to the 10th floor this week.
Earlier this month, Espaillat and Velázquez said they were denied access when they came to the building.
In a statement shared with the Times, DHS Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin reiterated that 26 Federal Plaza is not a detention center. "These congressional members do not have the authority to disrupt ongoing law enforcement activities and sensitive law enforcement materials," she told the outlet.
The letter includes several demands, including that DHS rescind "guidance or instructions suggesting that ICE field offices are exempt from Section 527 oversight," reaffirm that members of Congress can conduct unannounced oversight visits where people are detained, including field offices where individuals are held overnight, direct field office personnel to comply with the law regarding congressional oversight access.