California House Democrats sue over access to ICE detention centers

The Trump administration is illegally obstructing lawmakers by denying them access to federal immigration detention centers, alleges a lawsuit filed by Democrats, including several representing Southern California in Congress.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, July 30, seeks to force the administration to allow members of Congress inside facilities used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain people suspected of being in the country illegally.

“As a Member of Congress, I have a legal and moral obligation to conduct oversight — and I will not stand by while people in our community are locked away in facilities that may be violating their rights,” Rep. Norma Torres, D-Ontario, one of the lawsuit plaintiffs, said in a news release.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said via email that the plaintiffs “could have just scheduled a tour; instead, they’re running to court to drive clicks and fundraising emails.”

“Here are the facts. As ICE law enforcement have seen a surge in assaults, disruptions, and obstructions to enforcement — including by Members of Congress themselves — any requests to tour processing centers and field offices must be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security,” McLaughlin wrote.

“As for visits to detention facilities, requests should be made with sufficient time to prevent interference with the President’s (constitutional) authority to oversee executive department functions — a week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the President’s constitutional authority.”

Democratic Reps. Robert Garcia and Jimmy Gomez of Los Angeles County, Lou Correa of Orange County and Raul Ruiz, who represents part of the Inland Empire, are among the lawsuit plaintiffs. Others are Joe Neguse and Jason Crow of Colorado, Adriano Espaillat and Dan Goldman of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Veronica Escobar of Texas.

“No child should be sleeping on concrete, and no sick person should be denied care, yet that’s exactly what we keep hearing is happening inside Trump’s detention centers, including the one in my own district that set off national outrage and protests across the country,” Gomez said in the news release announcing the lawsuit.

The same release quoted Ruiz as saying: “The Department of Homeland Security’s policy change requiring advance notice (to visit detention centers) is unacceptable, unlawful, and clearly designed to block transparency and accountability.”

Also in the release, Correa said he never had an issue visiting ICE detention centers until recently.

“Obeying the law is not an option for any of us,” he said. “Nor should it be up to ICE to decide which laws to follow and which laws to ignore.”

With detention centers filling up as the White House steps up efforts to deport undocumented immigrants, Democratic lawmakers nationwide have tried — with mixed results — to visit the facilities to investigate reports of detainees being mistreated or denied access to medication and other essentials.

In June, Reps. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena and Mark Takano, D-Riverside, toured the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County’s High Desert. Afterward, they described subpar conditions for citizens and non-citizens being detained.

Last month, Ruiz and Torres were not allowed inside Adelanto. ICE said the lawmakers ignored “established … directive regarding visiting ICE facilities.”

Ruiz responded by posting on social media what appeared to be emails from Ruiz’s and Torres’ offices. The emails, one dated July 3 — eight days before the attempted visit — and the other dated July 7, inform ICE of the lawmakers’ requests to visit Adelanto.

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Hesperia, visited Adelanto the same day Ruiz and Torres tried to get in.

Obernolte, who praised conditions at Adelanto, “was scheduled for an approved, authorized visit” and followed policy requiring at least seven days’ notice for visiting detention facilities, ICE said.