Guardian: Outrage as DHS moves to restrict lawmaker visits to detention centers

The US Department of Homeland Security is now requiring lawmakers to provide 72 hours of notice before visiting detention centers, according to new guidance.

The guidance comes after a slew of tense visits from Democratic lawmakers to detention centers amid Donald Trump’s crackdowns in immigrant communities across the country. Many Democratic lawmakers in recent weeks have either been turned away, arrested or manhandled by law enforcement officers at the facilities, leading to public condemnation towards Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (Ice) handling of such visits.

Lawmakers are allowed to access DHS facilities “used to detain or otherwise house aliens” for inspections and are not required “to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility”, according to the 2024 Federal Appropriations Act.

Previous language surrounding lawmaker visits to such facilities said that “Ice will comply with the law and accommodate members seeking to visit/tour an Ice detention facility for the purpose of conducting oversight,” CNN reported.

In response to the updated guidance, Mississippi’s Democratic representative and the ranking member of the House committee on homeland security, Bennie Thompson, condemned what he called the attempt by the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, to “block oversight on Ice”.

“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,” Thompson said.

“This unlawful policy is a smokescreen to deny member visits to Ice offices across the country, which are holding migrants – and sometimes even US 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.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/19/dhs-immigration-detention-center-visits-new-guidance

CNN: DHS issues new guidance for lawmakers visiting ICE facilities after tense confrontations

After a spate of tense encounters involving lawmakers at Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, the Department of Homeland Security is asking members of Congress to provide 72 hours of notice before visiting detention centers, according to new guidance.

Under the annual appropriations act, lawmakers are allowed to enter any DHS facilities “used to detain or otherwise house aliens” to inspect them as part of their oversight duties. The act outlines that they are not required “to provide prior notice of the intent to enter a facility.”

The agency’s new memo also seeks to differentiate ICE field offices from detention facilities, noting that “ICE Field Offices are not detention facilities” and therefore do not fall under the appropriations act provision.  

Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, called the move “unprecedented” and an “affront to the Constitution and Federal law.”

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/19/politics/dhs-ice-visits-congress-lawmakers

Raw Story: ‘Show me your badge!’ NYC mayoral candidate arrested by ICE

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (D), who’s running to be the city’s next mayor, was arrested by ICE agents at an immigration court in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday.

Politico’s Jeff Coltin posted the arrest video to X, writing, “Mayoral candidate Brad Lander was cuffed and detained by ICE agents after asking to see a warrant for people who were detained after an immigration hearing.

amNewYork reported, “The city’s elected financial watchdog, and a Democratic candidate for mayor, appeared at 26 Federal Plaza on the morning of June 17 to observe immigration hearings involving individuals marked for potential deportation. Lander’s arrest, which amNewYork observed, occurred as the comptroller and his staff walked arm-in-arm with an immigrant whom federal agents — representing ICE, the FBI and the Treasury Department, each of whom wearing masks to conceal their faces — moved to seize after a court hearing. Moments earlier, the immigrant had their case dismissed pending appeal.”

The news outlet reported, as ICE agents moved in to arrest him, Lander yelled: “Show me you warrant! Show me your badge!”

https://www.rawstory.com/ice-arrests-ny

MSNBC: Elon Musk’s bad-faith response to the Minnesota shootings risks encouraging political violence

In the wake of the attacks, prominent right-wing social media commentators and conspiracy theorists were quick to falsely lay blame at the feet of Democrats.

The shootings of two Minnesota state legislators and their spouses this weekend — resulting in the assassination of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband and grievous injury to Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, who were shot multiple times — is the latest horrific episode of political violence across the country.

It won’t be the last.

In the wake of the attacks, prominent right-wing social media commentators and conspiracy theorists were quick to falsely lay blame at the feet of victims and Democrats. After reports surfaced that Gov. Tim Walz had appointed the Minnesota shooting suspect, who was taken into custody Sunday, to a state workforce development board, right-wing social media personality Mike Cernovich asked on X whether Walz had unleashed an “assassin” and “ordered the political hit against a rival who voted against Walz’s plan to give free healthcare to illegals.” Elon Musk was swiftly mocked online after he blamed the “far left” for the killings in a post on X.Expand article logo  Continue reading  Back to Home

These conspiracy theories are patently wrong. The suspect in custody for Saturday’s killings has reportedly voted for Trump and is a supporter of the president, according to a close friend of his who spoke with NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis, and he appears to have deliberately targeted progressive and liberal candidates and causes. Police discovered a list of other targets, including Democrats who support abortion rights and Planned Parenthood clinics. He was an ordained Christian minister who had taken several trips to proselytize overseas.

When political leaders use rhetoric that demonizes their opponents, declaring them enemies who are worthy of revenge or pledging retribution, their supporters may feel emboldened or empowered to take violent action.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/minnesota-shootings-suspect-elon-musk-response-conspiracies-rcna213152

Washington Post: ‘No Kings’ protests nationwide to push back on Trump’s ‘overreach’

In the hours before tanks barrel down the streets of Washington for President Donald Trump’s grand military parade Saturday, thousands of Americans will gather across the country in defiance of what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.

The organized day of protests in over 2,000 cities — dubbed “No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance” — comes after a week of unrest and anger in Los Angeles and other cities following immigration raids in the L.A. area and the Trump administration’s move to federalize the National Guard and dispatch Marines to California.

No Kings organizer Ezra Levin said that interest has “skyrocketed” since those protests began — with individuals in 200 more cities signing up to host No Kings events just this week. He said more people are now expected to turn out than the estimated 3.5 million who participated in a similar nationwide day of action in April.

“We’re no longer talking to folks who are just paying attention to politics,” said Levin, the co-founder of the liberal advocacy group Indivisible. “People are seeing this overreach by Trump and saying, ‘I don’t like that — what can I do?’”

Images of immigrants being swept up at moments in their daily lives — at car washes and Home Depots, to name just two places — seem to have struck a chord with a wider swath of the public than was previously engaged, observers say, though the concept of deporting those in the country illegally still has broad support.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/06/13/no-kings-protest-anti-trump-army-parade

New York Times: Trump Declares Dubious Emergencies to Amass Power, Scholars Say

In disputes over protests, deportations and tariffs, the president has invoked statutes that may not provide him with the authority he claims.

To hear President Trump tell it, the nation is facing a rebellion in Los Angeles, an invasion by a Venezuelan gang and extraordinary foreign threats to its economy.

Citing this series of crises, he has sought to draw on emergency powers that Congress has scattered throughout the United States Code over the centuries, summoning the National Guard to Los Angeles over the objections of California’s governor, sending scores of migrants to El Salvador without the barest hint of due process and upending the global economy with steep tariffs.

Legal scholars say the president’s actions are not authorized by the statutes he has cited and are, instead, animated by a different goal.

“He is declaring utterly bogus emergencies for the sake of trying to expand his power, undermine the Constitution and destroy civil liberties,” said Ilya Somin, a libertarian professor at Antonin Scalia Law School who represents a wine importer and other businesses challenging some of Mr. Trump’s tariffs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/politics/trump-emergency-powers-invasion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.N08.tEO-.S_2DmAE6Yws9&smid=url-share

Associated Press: LA police swiftly enforce downtown curfew as protests against Trump’s immigration crackdown continue

Los Angeles police swiftly enforced a downtown curfew, making arrests moments after it took effect, while deploying officers on horseback and using crowd control projectiles to break up a group of hundreds demonstrating against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Members of the National Guard stood watch behind plastic shields, but did not appear to participate in the arrests Tuesday night.

Hours later, many of the protesters had dispersed, although sporadic confrontations continued that were much smaller than in previous nights. Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators looking to cause trouble.

The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated downtown and the curfew covers a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section that includes an area where protests have occurred since Friday in the sprawling city of 4 million. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (1,295 square kilometers).

[Gov. Gavin] Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents, with some guardsmen now standing in protection around agents as they carried out arrests. He said it would only heighten tensions and civil unrest. The judge set a hearing for Thursday, giving the administration several days to continue those activities.

https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-protests-ice-national-guard-f39ba39287f628ce8c8be47c92ea6147

Daily Mail: ICE prepares full assault on five Democrat cities as LA goes into lockdown amid immigration riots

Donald Trump is set to deploy ICE tactical units to five Democrat-run cities amid the riots in Los Angeles as Gavin Newsom nearly broke into tears while blaming his administration for inciting the California chaos.

The military-style units are set to storm New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and northern VirginiaMSNBC reported. Four of those five are heavily blue cities, while northern Virginia contains the Democrat enclave of Alexandria. 

‘Look, this isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles, when Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard. He made that order apply to every state in this nation,’ Newsom said, as he teared up. 

‘This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes, this moment we have feared has arrived.’

Newsom accused Trump of ‘taking a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project’ of three co-equal branches of government. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14800391/ICE-prepares-assault-five-Democrat-cities-LA-goes-lockdown.html

New York Times: Trump Declares Dubious Emergencies to Amass Power, Scholars Say

In disputes over protests, deportations and tariffs, the president has invoked statutes that may not provide him with the authority he claims.

To hear President Trump tell it, the nation is facing a rebellion in Los Angeles, an invasion by a Venezuelan gang and extraordinary foreign threats to its economy.

Citing this series of crises, he has sought to draw on emergency powers that Congress has scattered throughout the United States Code over the centuries, summoning the National Guard to Los Angeles over the objections of California’s governor, sending scores of migrants to El Salvador without the barest hint of due process and upending the global economy with steep tariffs.

Legal scholars say the president’s actions are not authorized by the statutes he has cited and are, instead, animated by a different goal.

“He is declaring utterly bogus emergencies for the sake of trying to expand his power, undermine the Constitution and destroy civil liberties,” said Ilya Somin, a libertarian professor at Antonin Scalia Law School who represents a wine importer and other businesses challenging some of Mr. Trump’s tariffs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/us/politics/trump-emergency-powers-invasion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.N08.tEO-.S_2DmAE6Yws9&smid=url-share

Mirror: LA immigration protests LIVE: Mass protests spread to new cities, with tear gas thrown in Dallas

The President sent another 2,000 National Guard troops to confront immigration protesters in LA, as the demonstrations spread to other US cities

President Donald Trump has defended his decision to send another 2,000 National Guard troops to confront immigration protesters in Los Angeles, as the demonstrations spread to other US cities.

The protests began Friday in downtown LA after federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people across the city. Trump on Monday authorized the deployment of 700 Marines and additional National Guard troops to LA as the protests entered a fourth day. It came after an initial 300 troops arrived in the city on Sunday.

The demonstrations spread to other cities including Boston, Houston and Philadelphia on Monday. In Dallas, hundreds of protesters gathered for a rally which police declared was “unlawful.” Authorities said one person was arrested.

https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/la-immigration-protests-live-flash-1195445