The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued new rules limiting how and when members of Congress can visit immigration detention centres. This comes after several tense visits by Democratic lawmakers.Under federal law, lawmakers can make unannounced visits to ICE facilities. But the new DHS policy requires them to give prior notice. It also limits the number of people per visit and says lawmakers must name specific detainees in advance and get signed privacy forms.“ICE will not facilitate meetings with detainees in detention facilities without valid, signed privacy releases. If Members and/or Congressional staff would like to meet with a specific detainee or set of detainees, please provide names, alien registration numbers, and valid, signed privacy releases with your request,” DHS stated.Tensions have been rising. In New Jersey, three Democratic lawmakers tried to visit Delaney Hall with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. A scuffle broke out, and Baraka was arrested for trespassing. Charges were later dropped, but Rep. LaMonica McIver now faces charges of assaulting an officer during the clash. If convicted, she could face up to 17 years in prison.Senator Alex Padilla was also briefly handcuffed during a protest in Los Angeles where Noem was speaking.The Trump administration says the new rules are to protect privacy, but Democrats say it’s an attempt to hide the impact of harsh immigration policies. Rep. Jerry Nadler pushed back strongly against the new DHS restrictions, saying the Trump administration has no legal authority to block lawmakers from inspecting detention sites. He cited Section 527 of the 2024 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which allows members of Congress to inspect DHS-operated facilities without prior notice.Nadler in a post on X, said he had informed ICE in advance anyway, but the agency is now wrongly claiming that its field offices are exempt — even though migrants are being held there overnight, sometimes sleeping on the floor. “It doesn’t matter what ICE chooses to call a facility,” he said. “If it’s used for detention, Congress has the right to inspect it. Period.”
