Last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued guidance that illegally attempted to curtail congressional visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.
In a thinly veiled attempt to obstruct oversight, ICE said members of Congress must provide 72 hours’ notice before visiting facilities, even though Section 527 of the Appropriations Act of 2024 specifically allows members to visit immigration facilities unannounced.
ICE further instructed members to submit their requests to the Office of Congressional Relations at [email protected]. Naturally, Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all emails to and from that account from June 1 onward.
It’s no wonder why ICE is trying to hide from oversight. A recent blockbuster report from Wired, based on its own FOIA requests, uncovered harrowing records of 911 calls from ICE facilities. The records make clear that ICE is unequipped to handle the growing health crises unfolding across its centers.
But now ICE’s week-old guidance is nowhere to be found.
The ICE website that provides information for congressional facility visits only lists the February guidance that the June guidance replaced. Interestingly, the URL for the February guidance is dated June 25, 2025, implying that it was republished after its original publication date.
It’s good that the June guidance appears to have been rescinded, but FPF won’t take our eye off the ball. We will continue to pursue our FOIA requests to uncover whatever information the agency is trying to hide from both Congress and the public.
