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Committee member says DHS is violating 2024 law on unannounced congressional visits to detention facilities
Summary
The committee member cited a 2024 law that permits members of Congress to visit detention facilities without prior notice and alleged DHS has repeatedly blocked such oversight visits.
The committee member told the hearing that "In 2024, Congress passed a law that allows members of Congress to visit detention facilities without providing any prior notice," and charged that the Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly violated that law by stopping members from conducting oversight visits.
The speaker said DHS and GEO Group "have not only blocked members of Congress from entering their buildings, they have also blocked the state of New Jersey and the city of Newark from conducting their own oversight." The member cited local legal efforts, saying Newark sued GEO and that the New Jersey attorney general obtained court authority for health inspectors to enter the facility.
The member framed these developments as evidence that federal oversight is being obstructed and called for stronger, unannounced oversight measures. The transcript records the allegation that DHS prevented congressionally authorized oversight visits, but does not contain testimony from DHS or GEO Group rebutting or confirming that account.
