(From Todd Epp, Northern Plains News)
House Democrats are demanding South Dakota’s Kristi Noem immediately rescind a new policy that restricts congressional access to immigration detention facilities, calling the restrictions a violation of federal law and the Constitution.
Ranking Member Robert Garcia of California and 21 other Democrats sent a letter Monday to Noem, who serves as Secretary of Homeland Security, arguing the department lacks the authority to limit Congress’s oversight duties.
“The Department does not possess the authority to restrict Congress’s irrefutable constitutional duty to rigorously oversee the Executive Branch,” the letter states.
Policy Changes Spark Controversy
The controversy stems from guidance ICE issued June 18 that imposed new restrictions on congressional inspections of detention facilities. The guidance was later removed from ICE’s website after criticism.
Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin then outlined what Democrats called an “even more extreme policy” requiring that “any requests to tour processing centers and field offices must be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
Current DHS policy now requires congressional visits to detention facilities be requested “a minimum of seven calendar days in advance,” with any requests to shorten that timeline requiring approval from the DHS Secretary.
Legal Challenge
Democrats point to the fiscal year 2024 appropriations law, which explicitly bars the department from preventing members of Congress from entering DHS facilities “for the purpose of conducting oversight.”
The law states: “Nothing in this section may be construed to require a Member of Congress to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility.”
More than 70 percent of people currently in ICE detention have not been convicted of a crime, according to CBS News reporting cited in the letter.
Specific Cases Cited
The lawmakers reference several controversial cases, including a 6-year-old child with leukemia allegedly unable to get needed care and “a father of three U.S. Marines who was beaten by masked federal agents.”
Garcia’s letter describes “often violent, unlawful conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers” that has shocked Americans.
Information Request
The Democrats are requesting three categories of information from DHS:
A complete accounting of all congressional oversight requests that have been denied or restricted
All documents related to DHS’s legal assessment of the new policies
Names of senior political officials who developed or advanced the policies
“We will continue to demand transparency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law,” the letter concludes.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House rules.
