DHS Issues New Guidance Limiting Lawmakers’ Visits to ICE Facilities

The new protocol asks lawmakers to give three days’ notice before visits.

Kristi Noem
Alex Brandon/AP

The Department of Homeland Security has issued new guidance for lawmakers seeking to inspect Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities after a series of headline-grabbing incidents in which officials have confronted federal agents and even been handcuffed.

The new protocol asks lawmakers to give three days’ notice before visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and explicitly requires a day’s notice for their staff.

By law, members of Congress are allowed to make unannounced visits to ICE facilities.