You almost wish Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would make congressional Democrats write it 100 times on the Capitol Hill blackboard: “Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities are not for photo opportunities.”
However, she has issued guidance that works just as well: On Wednesday, the DHS released new restrictions that bar lawmakers from turning ICE facility visits into spectacles, including advance notice of the visit and limits on the detainees they can meet with individually.
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The new DHS guidelines require lawmakers to give ICE field offices 72 hours notice and their staff to give 24 hours notice before any visits.
Furthermore, if they want to meet with any of the inmates, they have to provide a list of who they want to speak to or give 48 hours notice to allow for the creation of a sign-up list for detainees who want to speak to lawmakers.
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Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi was the go-to guy for the freakout du jour when it came to DHS’ new visitation guidelines.
“There is no valid or legal reason for denying Member access to ICE facilities and DHS’s ever-changing justifications prove this,” said Thompson, who apparently lacks access to social media or this show on cable that airs 24 hours a day that some people like to call “the news.”
“To be clear, there is no agency or department that is ‘too busy’ for oversight. If ICE has nothing to hide, DHS must make its facilities available,” he said via a statement.
“Kristi Noem’s new policy to block congressional oversight of ICE facilities is not only unprecedented, it is an affront to the Constitution and Federal law. Noem is now not only attempting to restrict when Members can visit, but completely blocking access to ICE Field Offices — even if Members schedule visits in advance. No matter how much she and [President] Trump want to force us to live under their authoritarian rule, ICE is not above oversight and the Department must follow the law,” he added.
“This unlawful policy is a smokescreen to deny Member visits to ICE offices across the country, which are holding migrants — and sometimes even U.S. citizens — for days at a time. They are therefore detention facilities and are subject to oversight and inspection at any time. DHS pretending otherwise is simply their latest lie.”
