The Department of Homeland Security has placed new limits on members of Congress seeking to visit and inspect immigration detention facilities as lawmakers from New York and the Chicago delegations become the latest to encounter resistance from federal officials on an attempted tour.

The department issued new guidance that includes several changes to the protocol on facility visits that appears to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement the ability to limit or prevent visits, including the power to end a visit if the protocol is not followed.

The changes come amid a flurry of high-profile clashes and denials of entry as Democratic members of Congress and other officials seek to visit facilities. That includes federal charges against Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., accusing her of interfering with federal law enforcement officers, for which she has denied wrongdoing.

In the new protocol, DHS added language that says “ICE retains the sole and unreviewable discretion to deny a request or otherwise cancel, reschedule or terminate a tour or visit” under five conditions.

Those conditions are: “1) an emergency arises; 2) the safety, security, and orderly operations of the facility are potentially jeopardized; 3) any violation(s) of this Protocol occur; 4) any other identified operational concerns exist; 5) facility management or other ICE officials deem it appropriate to do so.”

The protocol also says “ICE Field Offices are not detention facilities and fall outside of” legal requirements for lawmaker inspections.

Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a news release the new guidance amounts to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem blocking members of Congress from visiting detention facilities.

“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. “No matter how much she and Trump want to force us to live under their authoritarian rule, ICE is not above oversight and the Department must follow the law.”

On Wednesday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler said on social media that ICE just blocked him and fellow New York Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman “from inspecting their detention center at 26 Federal Plaza, where migrants are reportedly being forced to sleep on the floor for days at a time.”

“This is completely unacceptable, and we will not back down,” Nadler wrote.

Also Wednesday, Democratic members of Congress from the Chicago area — Reps. Danny K. Davis, Jesús “Chuy” García, Delia Ramirez and Jonathan L. Jackson — said they were unlawfully denied entry from an immigration processing center in Broadview, Ill.

The lawmakers said in a joint statement the visit was prompted by reports that the center is “unlawfully being used against city and state ordinances as a detention center,” and the migrants held there are “being denied access to attorneys and held in inhumane and unsanitary conditions, sleeping on the floor and without complete meals.”

García said in a statement the delegation came to the facility and “respectfully asked to be allowed to conduct an oversight visit,” but was denied entry.

Ramirez, who serves on the House Homeland Security Committee, said the group “came to the ICE Processing Center at Broadview to observe the conditions here and fulfill our oversight authority, granted under appropriation laws.”

“But this Administration continues to break the law and bypass Congressional authority because they do not want us to see the cruelty behind these doors,” Ramirez said.

In a post in response to Garcia on social media, the DHS account said: “Congressman, all members and staff need to comply with facility rules, procedures, and instructions from ICE personnel on site.” The account did not provide the legal authority for the policy.

More changes

The new guidance also changes the language around visits from members of Congress. Previously, the guidance from February said ICE “will comply with the law” and accommodate members seeking to visit or tour an ICE detention facility for the purpose of conducting oversight.

The new protocol says ICE “will make every effort to comply with the law” and accommodate members seeking to visit or tour an ICE detention facility for the purpose of conducting oversight, “but exigent circumstances (e.g., operational conditions, security posture, etc.) may impact the time of entry into the facility.”

It also makes the threat of arrest explicit by adding this language: “As such, all visitors are required to comply with identity verification and security screening requirements prior to entry. Visitors attempting to circumvent entry requirements may be subject to arrest or other legal action.”

The new protocol also specifies that lawmakers should be prepared to show valid identification, and “Member Voting Cards with picture ID are sufficient,” but “Member pins which change from Congress to Congress and are not associated with a specific individual are not.”

Democrats have contended federal law provides lawmakers the authority to enter any facility operated by or for DHS used to detain or otherwise house people, and they can do so without advance notice.

Last week, Rep. Norma J. Torres, D-Calif., sent a letter to ICE alleging that when members of Congress were turned away from a visit to the Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 7, chemical agents were deployed against her and other protesters outside the building.

The Roybal building in Los Angeles was reportedly one of the centers of protest against Trump administration actions in the city.

At a press conference last week, Torres said that she had heard reports that “the conditions that we have been told the migrants are being held under are nothing short of inhumane.”

“They are operating outside of constitutional bounds. They are denying congressional oversight, using chemical agents against members of Congress and our staff, and targeting Latino neighborhoods with impunity,” Torres said. “This is no longer about immigration policy. It is about human dignity and the rule of law.”

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(Michael Macagnone contributed to this report.)

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