This week, courts affirmed again that Congress has a constitutional right to conduct oversight of immigration detention centers. We’re representing the lawmakers fighting for their right to access and inspect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities, with Democracy Forward.
In December, the court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot block members of Congress from investigating conditions at ICE detention centers. But last month, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem quietly reinstated a policy barring members’ unannounced inspections of the facilities. When DHS tried to block lawmakers from conducting oversight of a detention facility in Minnesota, we returned to court and filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order to stop the obstruction.
The court granted our motion this week, again upholding Congress' right to unannounced visits to ICE facilities to conduct oversight. This oversight is especially important now, amid record immigration detention highs and reports of neglect, abuse, and homicide within ICE facilities.
“By restoring Congress’s statutory right to conduct unannounced inspections, the court has made clear that no administration is above the law, and that the human consequences of detention cannot be hidden from public view,” our Executive Director Chioma Chukwu said.
