Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff accuses DHS of obstructing oversight after reports of abuse in ICE detention centers
Citing mounting reports of human rights violations in U.S. immigration detention, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff is demanding that the Department of Homeland Security stop blocking members of Congress from inspecting ICE facilities.
Ossoff, joined by 13 Senate colleagues, including fellow Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, launched a formal inquiry Monday pressing DHS for answers after what lawmakers describe as "arbitrary and illegal obstruction" of access to detention centers and ICE field offices holding detainees.
The push follows a growing number of public reports this year of members of Congress and their staff being denied or delayed entry to ICE facilities across the country.
"Obstructing Congressional access to immigration detention facilities violates federal law and undermines Congress's inherent authority to conduct oversight," Ossoff and the group wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Under federal law, DHS must allow members of Congress to inspect detention facilities without notice and must let their staff enter with at least 24 hours' notice. But lawmakers say DHS and ICE have repeatedly ignored those requirements.
According to the letter, ICE recently required a seven-day notice for Congressional staff to inspect a facility, delaying what Ossoff described as an urgent visit to review conditions for children held in a "family" detention center. Members of Congress also reported being barred from unannounced inspections and from bringing doctors, attorneys, or other experts on facility tours.
The senators say DHS further tightened access in June when ICE issued a guidance memo, since removed from its website, that appeared to require a 72-hour notice for all visits and excluded ICE field offices from oversight, despite federal law allowing access to any facility where detainees are held.
A DHS press statement at the time asserted that a seven-day notice was necessary to prevent interference with the administration's executive authority.
Ossoff's inquiry comes amid his ongoing investigation into human rights abuses in immigration detention. According to the letter, his office has identified 510 credible reports of abuse, including deaths in custody; physical and sexual assault; medical neglect; mistreatment of pregnant women and children; unsanitary conditions; overcrowding; lack of food and water; denial of legal access; and family separations.
In October, Ossoff released a report documenting 85 credible cases of medical neglect and 82 credible reports of inadequate food and water. In August, his first report found credible allegations of abuse of pregnant women and children in federal custody.
Ossoff has long advocated for aggressive oversight of DHS. In recent years, he has led investigations into medical mistreatment of women in detention, delays in deploying child-welfare professionals to border facilities, and allegations of sexual assault at a Georgia ICE center.
The senators are now asking DHS to disclose by Dec. 15 how many Congressional visits have been delayed, blocked, or denied this year, and to provide updated guidance for both lawmakers and facility operators on legal access requirements.
"Members of Congress and their staff must be allowed to access any facility where individuals are held in federal custody," the senators wrote, "to monitor and prevent these abuses and ensure accountability."