Reps. Craig, Omar say holding cells were 'completely empty' at Whipple Federal Building

Reps. Craig and Omar share what they saw at Whipple Federal Building

Congressional Representatives Angie Craig and Ilhan Omar held a news conference about what they saw at the Whipple Federal Building after conducting congressional oversight.  

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - After conducting congressional oversight at the Whipple Federal Building for the first time, Congressional representatives Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig say the holding cells appeared to be cleared out before they arrived. 

READ MORE: US Rep. Morrison conducts oversight at Whipple, 2 other lawmakers denied access

Congressional oversight at Whipple Federal Building 

Lawmakers visit Whipple Detention Facility

The federal Whipple Detention Facility, used by ICE agents to hold detainees in Minnesota, was visited by three lawmakers on Friday. FOX 9’s Rob Olson is live outside with the latest.

What they're saying:

Congresswoman Angie Craig said they observed that the drawdown of Operation Metro surge is taking place, but there are still concerns over transparency. 

"It seems very convenient that they removed anyone who had been arrested today from the facility 30 minutes before we arrived at the facility," Rep. Craig said, adding that she is challenging the policy that requires members of congress to give a week-long notice before conducting an oversight visit. "What we saw today was an incredibly clean facility. It was a facility without a single individual being held in it."

Rep. Craig added that an ICE agent should provide their badge number if asked to identify themselves. 

"We want to be able to be back to the regular process that we are constitutional allowed to carry out, which is to just show up and be allowed access," Rep. Omar said."Because the idea is that nothing should happen in the darkness in America."

Rep. Omar also added that agents have not detained any "constitutional observers" in recent days. 

Whipple Federal Building visited by attorneys

Attorneys were allowed inside the Whipple Federal Building to visit clients and see conditions after a court order granted them access. FOX 9’s Soyoung Kim has the latest.

By the numbers:

The lawmakers added that Border Czar Tom Homan is back in Washington, D.C., and that they were given data by the acting director of federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota on the current state of operations.

There are reportedly about 500 federal immigration agents taking part in Operation Metro Surge, 20 detentions per day and two deportation flights per week, according to Reps. Craig and Omar, citing the information given to them during the oversight visit.