Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has ordered Members of Congress to provide at least seven days’ advance notice before visiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, following a growing pattern of Democratic lawmakers turning “oversight” visits into confrontational spectacles that have disrupted operations and endangered federal officers and detainees.
The policy became public late Saturday after three Minnesota Democrats were denied entry to an ICE processing center in Minneapolis, triggering accusations that DHS was unlawfully blocking congressional oversight.
Politico first reported the change, explaining that the restriction was quietly implemented earlier in the week and only surfaced after the lawmakers were turned away.
“That order… forces lawmakers to seek a week’s advance notice before conducting oversight visits to ICE facilities,” Politico reported, noting that the policy appeared to explain why three House Democrats were blocked from entering an ICE facility in Minnesota.
Rep. Ilhan Omar immediately framed the denial of entry as an abuse of power, arguing that ICE was attempting to shield itself from scrutiny.
“I was just denied access to the ICE processing center at the Whipple Building. Members of Congress have a legal right and constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight where people are being detained. The public deserves to know what is taking place in ICE facilities.”
But the administration’s newly filed policy memorandum tells a different story, grounding the change in security concerns driven by recent events at ICE facilities across the country. According to DHS, the issue is not oversight itself but the increasingly volatile manner in which it has been carried out.
“In June 2025, following significant and sometimes violent incidents at ICE facilities, I directed that requests by Members of Congress to visit an ICE facility be submitted at least seven days in advance of the visit,” the memorandum states.
The document further explains that DHS disagrees with a recent district court ruling limiting such restrictions, but has structured the policy to rely exclusively on funding sources not subject to those statutory constraints.
“Funds deriving from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are not subject to Section 527’s limitations. Accordingly, effective immediately… I am issuing this new policy,” Noem wrote.
DHS officials say the Minneapolis incident fits a broader pattern in which Democratic lawmakers arrive unannounced, often alongside activists, creating unsafe conditions and then accusing ICE of misconduct when denied entry. Following the Whipple Building confrontation, DHS accused the lawmakers of leading protesters toward the facility and violating established procedures.
“For the safety of detainees and staff… members of Congress must notify ICE at least seven days in advance of congressional visits,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, citing repeated violations of agency policy and court orders.
Legal Insurrection has documented multiple prior incidents showing why DHS says advance notice has become necessary. In New York City, Democratic officials staged a sit-in inside a federal immigration facility, forcing arrests and ultimately triggering a bomb threat that shut down a building housing ICE and FBI offices.
“This was no harmless ‘oversight visit.’ Eleven politicians forced their way inside the building, sat down in the hallway, and disrupted federal business,” Legal Insurrection reported.
A similar episode unfolded in Newark, New Jersey, where the mayor and several Democratic members of Congress attempted to storm the Delaney Hall ICE detention facility, ignoring repeated warnings from federal authorities.
“Baraka reportedly entered the federal facility without authorization and refused to leave when ordered,” Legal Insurrection reported, noting that Homeland Security Investigations issued multiple directives that were ignored before arrests were made.
According to DHS, these incidents are not isolated but part of a trend that diverts officers from their duties and escalates already tense situations.
“Unannounced visits require pulling ICE officers away from their normal duties… and there is an increasing trend of replacing legitimate oversight activities with circus-like publicity stunts,” the DHS memo states.
Congressional oversight of ICE has not been abolished. What has changed is the tolerance for ambush politics masquerading as accountability. After riots, arrests, forced facility shutdowns, and repeated attempts to provoke confrontations for cameras and social media, DHS is drawing a boundary: oversight may continue, but the era of walk-in chaos at federal detention facilities is over.
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