A dozen House Democrats are suing the Department of Homeland Security after they were denied access to immigration detention facilities.
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday, says all 12 Democratic lawmakers were denied access to DHS and Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities after an agency rule was changed to require a week’s notice for congressional visits.
“The [2020 Homeland Security Committee staff oversight report] emphasized that when congressional staff provided advance notice of oversight visits, ‘ICE facilities used the advanced warning to improve the conditions within the facility,’” the suit reads. “Staff detected evidence of those improvements, including the smell of fresh paint, evidence of a major clean-up, the relocation of individuals from solitary cells to the general population, and the installation of new guards.”