The Trump administration continues to demonstrate it cares nothing for the law, despite repeated claims that it’s here to restore respect for the rule of law. It’s been clear since the early days of Trump’s first term that he only respects the laws that let him do what he wants. For everything else, there’s the consolidation of executive power, which has been put into overdrive upon his return to the Oval Office.
Speaking of overdrive, Trump 2.0’s mass deportation program has swiftly overwhelmed ICE’s ability to handle the day-to-day work, as well as its ability to house all the people it has detained. Consequently, lawmakers (at least the ones that still possess a soul) are exercising their legal right to inspect ICE detention facilities, which pretty much everyone assumes are being operated inhumanely. (“Everyone” includes Trumpists and other bigots, who not only assume they’re being operated inhumanely, but audibly prefer people detained for deportation be treated as less than human.)
ICE is handling this spike in congressional interest the same way it’s handling the spike in arrest numbers: shittily and with zero regard for the law or constitutional rights. The law clearly states that congressional reps can visit ICE detention facilities without prior notice. Now that congressional reps are doing that regularly, ICE is pretending the law isn’t the law.
Acting ICE boss Todd Lyons admitted congressional reps don’t need to give ICE a head’s up before touring a facility, although he did point out all reps would need to subject themselves to “screening,” whatever that means in the context of unwillingly allowing Congress to exercise its oversight functions. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin went further, claiming all ICE was asking for was “a little more notice” before visits.
It doesn’t matter what McLaughlin said. The law contains no such “little more notice” obligation. Since the usual bullshit wasn’t working, ICE issued some new “guidance” which, while admitting again congressional reps didn’t need to provide notice, tried to suggest some prior notice was needed. On top of that, it unilaterally (and illegally) claimed congressional staffers needed to give 72 hours notice, despite the law saying 24 hours notice was all that was needed.
Representative Veronica Escobar, an El Paso, Texas resident, found herself being jerked around by ICE even though she actually gave ICE far more notice than the law actually requires.
This week, ICE illegally denied me entry into a processing facility in my district, and today, they released a statement saying I “[gave] the appearance of a political stunt intended to generate publicity rather than pursue genuine oversight.”I have some thoughts.
— Rep. Veronica Escobar (@repescobar.bsky.social) 2025-07-11T20:22:01.133Z
As her post on Bluesky points out, she was illegally denied entry by ICE, which (via email) tried to exercise the nonexistent “political stunt” exception to the law. It claimed it would be “unable to support a visit” the following day, claiming congressional reps needed to make requests seven days in advance. In support of this illegal request, ICE pointed to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin’s laughable statement about “assaults, disruptions, and obstructions to enforcement, including by politicians themselves.”
Whether or not this is actually the case, it doesn’t change the law. But it somehow gives ICE the impression it can unilaterally change its response to its legal obligations. When Rep. Escobar told the public about ICE’s responses to her request to tour the local detention facility, ICE issued a statement that claimed it was right and Rep. Escobar was wrong because… ICE didn’t like what the representative did when ICE chose to ignore the law.
The current DHS policy requires a minimum of seven days’ notice for visits to detention facilities. Congresswoman Veronica Escobar was explicitly informed of these guidelines and advised that ICE would be more than happy to accommodate her visit—provided it was scheduled in accordance with DHS policy. However, she disregarded that requirement and arrived unannounced at the El Paso Processing Center the very next day, knowing she would be denied entry.
She then immediately engaged with media outlets, which gives the appearance of a political stunt intended to generate publicity rather than pursue genuine oversight.
First, the “current DHS policy” is not supported by any law in the United States.
Second, fuck you.
Third, ICE is nothing but a political stunt at this point, now that it has entirely abandoned any pretense of law enforcement in favor of rounding up whatever non-white people it can wherever it can find them, and shipping them off to detainment centers in friendly judicial districts before dumping them into whatever foreign gulag is willing to accept them.
ICE will never be “more than happy” to accommodate visits from anyone who isn’t going to record a self-serving TikTok in front of a bunch of people who had done nothing more than show up for work before becoming the latest victims of a bigoted administration’s extraordinary rendition program.