A Democratic Representative from Texas claims she was denied access to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in El Paso.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) posted on her official X account that she was denied entry to the facility after giving ICE more than 24-hours notice of her visit. A recent memo released by the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says lawmakers need to provide at least 72 hours' notice before an official visit can be conducted.
Federal law gives Congressional lawmakers the right to inspect ICE facilities. At times, Democratic lawmakers have been forcibly removed or arrested for attempting to enter an ICE facility.
"For years, I have conducted oversight visits of these facilities in accordance with guidelines in the law, including last month when I toured the ICE soft-sided site in Northeast," Escobar wrote in a post.
"Let me be clear: it is the law that no Member of Congress can be denied entry to facilities operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct oversight," Escobar continued. "The law is straightforward, and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is not only blatantly breaking it herself, she is instructing local DHS staff to break it as well."
Escobar said she attempted to visit the facility after reading a recent report from Amnesty USA about alleged human rights abuses occurring at the El Paso facility.
"The Trump administration’s continued efforts to hide federally funded facilities from oversight by breaking the law contradicts their lofty, empty promises of law, order, and transparency," Escobar said.
