Rep. Mike Levin and Colleagues Demand ICE Reverse New Restrictions on Oversight Visits to Detention Facilities

Skip to content I Want to Hear from You About Your Health Care Concerns. NEW: Rep. Levin Announces New District Data Map to Showcase Federal Project Funding. Close About Services Federal Project Funding Map Federal Policy Impact Resources Clean Energy Tax Credits Help With A Federal Agency Constituent Success Stories Grants Applicants Commendations and Greetings Tours and Tickets Military Academy Nominations Internships Flags Surplus Books Program Art Competition Constituent of the Month Congressional App Challenge Vietnam War 50th Commemoration Program Member-Designated Transportation Projects Community Project Funding Requests The Congressional Award News Press Releases In The News Op-Eds Contact Email Me Newsletter Subscription Offices Internships Request a Meeting with Rep. Levin Website Problem I Want To Hear From You Español Close Search Site SEARCH About Services Federal Project Funding Map Federal Policy Impact Resources Clean Energy Tax Credits Help With A Federal Agency Constituent Success Stories Grants Applicants Commendations and Greetings Tours and Tickets Military Academy Nominations Internships Flags Surplus Books Program Art Competition Constituent of the Month Congressional App Challenge Vietnam War 50th Commemoration Program Member-Designated Transportation Projects Community Project Funding Requests The Congressional Award News Press Releases In The News Op-Eds Contact Email Me Newsletter Subscription Offices Internships Request a Meeting with Rep. Levin Website Problem I Want To Hear From You MENU Español Search Instagram Icon Twitter Icon Facebook Icon Youtube Icon Bluesky Icon Home News Press Releases June 12, 2026 Rep. Mike Levin and Colleagues Demand ICE Reverse New Restrictions on Oversight Visits to Detention Facilities In New Letter, Rep. Levin Leads 77 House Democrats in Fight Against ICE’s New Policies to Limit Interactions with Detainees Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) led 77 House colleagues in a letter to ICE’s Acting Director David Venturella demanding ICE reverse new policies that would restrict congressional oversight visits and interactions with detainees. On May 11, Reps. Levin and Sara Jacobs (CA-51) made an unannounced oversight visit to the Otay Mesa Detention Center where they were handed ICE’s new internal policy memorandum , “Restoring Order and Integrity to Congressional Visits to Detention Facilities.” It outlines new policies that require members of Congress to give ICE two business days of advance notice to meet with detainees. It also requires members of Congress to have detainees’ signed consent to meet with them. These new requirements are designed to hinder members from conducting comprehensive oversight. The letter raises serious concerns with the new restrictions on congressional oversight visits and demands that members of Congress have the option to speak with detainees without providing advance notice. Read the letter here and below: Dear Acting Director Venturella, We write to express our concern with the changes outlined under the recent internal policy memorandum, “Restoring Order and Integrity to Congressional Visits to Detention Facilities,” which limits meetings between members of Congress and individuals in detention. The memorandum outlines that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has “provided a historic level of access to its facilities,” with over 350 congressional visits coordinated since the beginning of the Trump Administration in January 2025. The need for historic levels of access to facilities is a direct product of historic levels of reports regarding the mistreatment of detainees, deaths in custody, inadequate conditions within facilities, and limited or inconsistent resources for detainees. It is clear Congress must conduct constant oversight. The right to inspect these detention facilities without advance notice was recently reaffirmed in Neguse et al. v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement et al. Yet, this Administration has enabled a revolving door of arbitrary policies, directives, and guidance on member access to facilities or on communication with detainees designed to hinder any productive oversight. Requiring two business days of advance notice and valid proof of a detainee’s consent to the meeting raises serious concerns in three main ways. The new policy assumes that detainees have timely access not only to obtaining an ICE Form 60-001 or similar form, but also to returning it to the appropriate entity within two business days. We have witnessed firsthand how difficult it can be for detainees to access this form because it was unavailable at the law library or because facility staff did not know how to help detainees access the form. The new policy in effect severely reduces the ability for members of Congress to conduct unannounced oversight visits by requiring members to announce a visit if seeking to meet with a detainee(s). Again, this contradicts the recent court ruling affirming the