A dozen congressional Democrats are suing the Trump administration to gain unfettered access to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the District of Columbia’s federal court, accuses ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of improperly blocking congressional oversight into immigration detention centers and ICE field offices, according to court documents. The Trump administration, in turn, is accusing Democrats of not following protocol and grandstanding for fundraising purposes.
“Nevertheless, since June 2025, each Plaintiff, in his or her official capacity as an individual member of Congress, has attempted to obtain information about conditions at a DHS facility used to detain or otherwise house noncitizens,” the lawsuit stated. “Each Plaintiff has done so by visiting a facility in person, or by giving DHS notice of imminent plans to do so, for the purpose of conducting real-time oversight of that facility.”
Democratic oversight of ICE facilities has become an increasingly fraught issue since President Donald Trump — who has made immigration enforcement a hallmark goal of his administration — returned to the White House.
A visit to a Newark, New Jersey, immigration detention center in May turned chaotic when congressional Democrats, joined by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, were denied immediate entry and allegedly tried to push their way inside. New Jersey Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver was later charged with assaulting ICE officers, and she has pleaded not guilty.
More recently, Maryland Democrats on Monday staged a sit-in an ICE building being temporarily used for holding foreign nationals facing deportation after being denied a tour of the facility.
