The Department of Homeland Security has placed new limits on members of Congress seeking to visit and inspect immigration detention facilities as lawmakers from New York and the Chicago delegations become the latest to encounter resistance from federal officials on an attempted tour.
The department issued new guidance that includes several changes to the protocol on facility visits that appears to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement the ability to limit or prevent visits, including the power to end a visit if the protocol is not followed.
The changes come amid a flurry of high-profile clashes and denials of entry as Democratic members of Congress and other officials seek to visit facilities. That includes federal charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., accusing her of interfering with federal law enforcement officers, for which she has denied wrongdoing.
