Democrats Use District Work Period to Conduct Oversight of ICE Detention Centers

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Emily Randall (WA-06), Maxine Dexter, M.D. (OR-03), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Mark Pocan (WI-02), and Gwen Moore (WI-04) used the recent district work period to conduct oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, a critical duty of Members of Congress. These visits come after officials attempted to block Representatives LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Rob Menendez (NJ-08) from conducting oversight at the Delaney Hall Detention Facility.

“It is our responsibility and obligation to do oversight of ICE’s enforcement and the rapid sweeping up of people of all immigration statuses,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “That is why we will continue our unannounced Congressional visits across the country. My colleagues and I visited the GEO-run Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma for an unannounced inspection and were extremely disappointed that the facility staff delayed our entry and then would not allow us to speak with more detained individuals. However, we were able to speak with two detained persons, including a woman who has been in this country for 20 years and was detained less than a week before she was to be married to a U.S. citizen; as well as a legal permanent resident, who has been here 31 years, is a proud member of the Machinists Union, and is married to a U.S. citizen with three U.S. citizen children. Our detention system utilizes billions of taxpayer dollars to funnel huge amounts of money to for-profit prison contractors that jail people who should not be jailed. Trump’s mass deportation machine has disappeared and deported people without due process and in defiance of the courts. That’s not what Americans were promised or what they want, and we will continue doing the oversight and work to build a humane and fair immigration system that benefits Americans and protects our valuable immigrant community members. I am grateful to all our members who are conducting these important oversight visits.”

“During the recess week, Rep. Nydia Velázquez and I visited the ICE detention center in Elizabeth, N.J. Importantly, we focused our visit on conversations with detainees, a vast majority of whom were separated from their family and who were detained after abiding by federal government appointments,” said Chair Espaillat. “Our experience during this visit highlighted the immigration detention industrial complex – the Trump administration is using cruelty and lawlessness to funnel taxpayer money to a bloated, dangerous and unnecessary detention system. We will maintain and expand our oversight efforts. We are keeping tabs.”

“At the Elizabeth Detention Center, I met people who have been held in ICE custody for months—ripped from their families and lives here in the U.S., with no clear timeline for release or resolution. This is the real impact of Trump’s mass deportation agenda: indefinite detention, broken families, and a system built on fear,” said Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez. “It’s our job to hold federal agencies accountable and make sure people are treated with dignity and due process. I’ll keep showing up to make sure that happens.”

“Texas has become ground zero for some of this administration’s worst immigration abuses—and that’s why I’m doing everything I can to hold them accountable,” said Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. “Last week, I visited the Houston Contract Detention Facility to make sure they are following the law. While they answered most of our questions, they declined to provide any copies of reports on daily population, medical visits, or the most recent inspection without consulting ICE. They refused to give us anything we asked for. I’ve done visits like this under both parties and called out wrongdoing every time, because human rights don’t change based on who’s in the White House. And neither does the Constitution. I’ll continue to visit detention sites in Texas and across the country. Because if you’re on American soil, you have rights, and I’m going to make sure they’re respected.”

“I’m deeply concerned by the inhumane, overcrowded conditions I saw inside Krome Detention Center in Miami, which was built for 882 and currently holds more than 1100 men and is the oldest, most dilapidated detention facility in America. People detained there, in the intake half of the facility, were piled into tiny rooms, with no space, no privacy and clearly unsanitary conditions,” said Wasserman Schultz. “Detainees are eventually crammed into dormitories, wall-to-wall, many on cots. Five hundred are on cots in a large tent. It’s outrageous that law-abiding TPS, humanitarian parole, and DACA recipients are snatched off the street and subjected to this harsh captivity, often with no due process. It’s especially chilling given Trump unlawfully shut down DHS’s civil rights and detention watchdogs. That’s why I passed a law in his first term to ensure Members get unannounced access to detention facilities, and I’ll keep conducting rigorous oversight. Krome is a monument to the cruelty and contempt the Trump Administration has for our Constitution. I will not stand by as tens of thousands of lawful immigrants are deprived of their humanity before being returned to brutal dictatorships.” 

“I’m proud to have joined my colleagues across the nation in conducting a surprise visit to an ICE detention center and sending a clear message to the Donald Trump Administration that we are watching, and we are not backing down,” said Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03). “During my visit to the Eloy Detention Center, I heard heartbreaking stories of inhumane treatment. As Trump wages his brutal war on immigrants, we’ll keep exposing these abuses and fighting for the rights, dignity, and humanity of every person—no matter their immigration status.”

“Congressman Pocan and I exercised our oversight authority by visiting the only ICE facility in Wisconsin. Given that ICE is operating as if they are above the law and without accountability to Congress, this authority is even more critical now. We were unable to talk with detainees during our visit, but I will continue pressing forward, especially to reach my constituent Ramon Morales Reyes who was wrongfully detained and arrested,” said Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04).

“Members of Congress have a constitutional duty to conduct oversight, which is why I joined my colleague Rep. Gwen Moore in inspecting the only ICE detention facility in Wisconsin,” said Congressman Mark Pocan (WI-02). “While I was appreciative that the facility is well maintained and well run with access to mental health and nutrition services, I was disappointed we were not allowed to speak to any of the detainees, nor could we get any answers about those detained in any detail. There is a serious disconnect between ICE and the facility they use to house detainees that must be rectified. We attempted multiple times to contact anyone at ICE who might be able to help, but were met with significant roadblocks and unanswered calls. Still more than 24 hours later, we have not received a returned call. ICE needs to be more responsive to members of Congress.”

“This was my second visit to Northwest Detention Center — this time unannounced. One thing was very clear: there are discrepancies between ICE and GEO’s tours, and the actual lived experience of those detained individuals we spoke with. The accounts of mealtimes and outside yard access and the ability to contact Tacoma Police Department in cases of assault were not the same between staff and detainees. Many of the individuals in these detention centers are our neighbors, our family members, our friends, our Union brothers and sisters,” said Congresswoman Emily Randall. “These individuals deserve decent and humane treatment, nutritious food and clean water, fresh air and sunshine, access to health care and interpreter services, and the ability to contact law enforcement when necessary. We will not close our eyes while hardworking, 20-year residents are snatched off the street and hidden away. We will keep watching, and we will keep fighting for a better immigration system — for all of us.”

“The Northwest Detention Center is harboring some of the most heartbreaking stories in our region. Trump claims he’s going after criminals but the reality is he’s going after moms, union leaders, green-card holders. He’s detaining our neighbors, our coworkers, and our loved ones—without guaranteed due process or any accountability,” said Congresswoman Dexter. “On my visit, the discrepancy between what ICE told us and what we heard from those detained was damning. There is zero clarity on who is being detained and their quality of life. From mealtimes to access to fresh air, from medical care to reporting assault—nothing aligned. Let’s be clear: this system is not designed to keep anyone safe. It is designed to break spirits, strip rights, and disappear people from our communities—all funded by your tax dollars. I will not back down from this fight.”

“Oversight is one of our most important duties as members of Congress,” said Congresswoman LaMonica McIver. “It is both legally protected and our obligation. Last month, I was criminally charged after I conducted an oversight visit at an ICE detention center in my district to hold this administration accountable for how it treats people in its custody,” said McIver. “We regularly conduct these visits, and conduct them unannounced, to get a sense of real conditions for detainees—the law grants us this right. We will not be intimidated or deterred as we work to get answers for our constituents and uphold the rights of everyone in this country.”

“The Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress have tried to intimidate, silence, and target us for fulfilling our lawful oversight responsibility at Delaney Hall,” said Congressman Rob Menendez (NJ-08). “But we, along with our fellow House Democrats, won’t be silenced nor will we back down. Not today, not ever. When this Administration crosses the line, we will hold them accountable. When they target our communities, we will be the voice for everyone who calls them home, we will fight back and we will win.”

“As Members of Congress, we have an obligation to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch,” said Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. “Our constituents count on us to ensure our laws are being followed, people’s rights are being protected, and our tax dollars are not being mismanaged. The continued efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to impede the Legislative branch’s oversight responsibilities and to sidestep Judicial rulings speaks to a department that is out of control, suffering from failed leadership, and flirting with authoritarianism.”

The Members conducted oversight at the Northwest Detention Center, Dodge County Jail, Elizabeth Detention Center, Houston Contract Detention Facility, Eloy Detention Center, and Krome Detention Center during the May district work period, following the oversight at Delaney Hall. In some cases, they were required to wait for extended periods of time before being allowed to enter, despite federal law granting the authority to conduct oversight at any time, unannounced.

Section 527 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-47) explicitly states that the Department of Homeland Security cannot prevent Members 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 […]. The law goes on to state that “Nothing in this section may be construed to require a Member of Congress to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility […] for the purpose of conducting oversight.”

Issues: Civil Rights, Immigration