After several Democrat publicity stunts took place at ICE facilities, Department of Homeland Security Director Kristi Noem decided to change up the rules for visits.
Democrats are now pitching outrage in the media, even threatening to sue the administration over the changes, but as I have stated before, if you act like children, you will be treated like children.
There have been several incidents, but I believe the one that put Noem over the edge was the visit in New Jersey that led to Rep. McIver (D-N.J.) being indicted.
Several New Jersey elected officials showed up at an ICE facility to conduct oversight, which went fine.
However, after the visit, a big dustup took place outside the gates, which led to a physical confrontation between agents and several politicians, including McIver, who allegedly threw some forearm shivers during the scuffle.
Democrats claimed the complaint against her was politically motivated, but a grand jury came back with an indictment, so that more or less shatters that narrative.
Last week, DHS announced new rules for visitations. Members of Congress can still make unannounced visits to ICE Detention Centers, but they have to give 72 hours' notice for any visits to ICE field offices.
They would also have to make 48-hour advance request if they plan on interviewing any detainees.
With members of Congress still able to do unannounced visits to detention centers, I have zero problem with the guidelines when you consider how Democrats have been treating these like PR stunts when they make these visits.
As expected, however, Dems were outraged.
Rep. Benny Thompson (D-MS) was at the head of the pack, threatening lawsuits against the Trump administration after the rules were changed.
He stated, “One of the things we’re looking at, to be honest with you, is whether or not we can go to court and force the department to follow the law. The secretary is putting those employees in those facilities in an untenable position because they are now having to break the law based on what their supervisor, or in this instance, the secretary, is saying. It’s not a good position.
“Democrats believe in the rule of law. If there is an opportunity for members to go to court and hold this administration, for which we’ve done in a number of occasions, accountable for what they’re doing we will do it. We’re talking to the lawyers right now. The law is clear.”
I am not really sure what laws are being broken, so I am very interested in seeing this play out. The key to all this is that they can still check detention centers without notice, so they can still conduct oversight. I would hope that Noem consulted with White House attorneys before announcing the rules to ensure the changes were legal.
