Democrat says ICE blocked her oversight visit to country’s largest detention camp
Summary
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar said immigration officials stopped her from fully inspecting conditions at the largest ICE detention center in the U.S., located in Texas. She was not allowed to speak with detained immigrants or access surveillance videos after reported disturbances at the Camp East Montana facility.Key Facts
- Veronica Escobar is a Democratic representative for El Paso, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Escobar visited Camp East Montana, a large ICE detention camp made of tents, with a capacity of 5,000 people.
- She was blocked from talking to detainees and obtaining surveillance footage during her oversight visit.
- The camp had two reported disturbances in early September, including detainees throwing objects and damaging property.
- ICE officials blamed some incidents on the detainees’ nationalities, specifically Venezuelans.
- Escobar and other lawmakers sued the Trump administration last year for restricting oversight visits to ICE facilities.
- Despite a court ruling in favor of the lawmakers, ICE has continued to limit or block congressional visits.
- Congress members have legal rights to visit ICE detention centers without notice and interview detainees as part of oversight.
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