DENVER (KDVR) — After a Colorado congressman said he was denied access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, U.S. lawmakers are suing the Trump administration for blocking access.
Rep. Jason Crow on July 20 said he was denied access to a federal detention facility privately run by the GEO Group in Aurora and used by ICE, even though “the law is clear that Members of Congress have the legal right to conduct unannounced oversight of federal detention facilities.”
Crow, a Democrat, represents Colorado’s 6th congressional district, which includes Aurora and the detention facility.
Rep. Joe Neguse, also a Democrat of Colorado, on Wednesday announced he is leading a dozen U.S. representatives in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Trump administration’s new policy for members of Congress to visit detention facilities.
“Blocking Members of Congress from oversight visits to ICE facilities that house or otherwise detain immigrants clearly violates Federal law—and the Trump administration knows it,” Neguse said in a press release. “Such blatant disregard for both the law and the constitutional order by the Trump administration warrants a serious and decisive response, which is why I’m proud to lead the lawsuit we proceeded with earlier today.”
Under the Public Oversight of Detention Centers Act of 2019 and 2024, members of Congress can conduct oversight visits and immediately enter any facility used to detain people in the U.S. illegally.
Trump campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the United States illegally — an issue that has long fired up his GOP base. The crackdown intensified in June when Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, gave the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a quota of 3,000 arrests a day, up from 650 a day in the first five months of Trump’s second term.
According to Neguse, “reports of mistreatment, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and the detention of U.S. citizens are growing,” and “the need for real-time, on-the-ground oversight has never been more urgent.”
Rep. Crow also released a statement about the lawsuit, saying he won’t stop fighting the Trump administration for oversight both in Congress and in court.
“Since President Trump was elected, this administration has denied Members of Congress access to immigration detention facilities and tried to intimidate us from doing our jobs,” Crow said. “I will not be deterred from conducting lawful oversight, and I’ll continue fighting to hold the administration accountable, including in Congress and the courts.”
The lawsuit lists ICE and its acting director, Todd Lyons, as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Kristi Noem as defendants.
As part of its campaign of mass deportation, the Trump-Vance administration has stretched the U.S. immigration detention system far beyond its capacity. More people are being held by the United States in immigration detention than ever before, with many facilities housing more individuals than they were built to contain. Reports of mistreatment have been widespread and have included disturbing details of overcrowding, food shortages, lack of adequate medical care, and unsanitary conditions. At least eleven people have died in immigration custody in just the first six months of this administration. And American citizens have been unlawfully detained by immigration enforcement, in some instances without access to counsel.”
Excerpt from the lawsuit
The suit seeks to declare unlawful, vacate, and set aside Trump’s oversight visit policy; preliminary and permanent injunctive relief for members of Congress to visit facilities; award the plaintiff representatives costs, reasonable attorney’s fees and other disbursements; and grant such other relief as the Court deems just, equitable, and proper.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
