Minnesota Congressional reps kicked out of ICE headquarters in Twin Cities
MN Congressional reps kicked out of ICE headquarters
Minnesota Congressional representatives were kicked out of the regional ICE headquarters in Minnesota while attempting to make an oversight visit on Saturday.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minnesota Congressional representatives say they were kicked out of the regional ICE headquarters in the Twin Cities while making an oversight visit on Saturday.
Reps. Omar, Craig, Morrison visit Whipple Building
What we know:
Shortly after 9 a.m., Reps. Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison walked up to the gates of the Whipple Building at Fort Snelling. The Congressional reps said they were there as part of an oversight visit.
The Whipple Building is a federal facility that houses the regional ICE headquarters in Minnesota and immigration court.
Dig deeper:
Since 2020, appropriations bills for the Department of Homeland Security have included language allowing Congressional members the ability to make oversight visits at detention facilities. Just last month, a court ruled that the Trump administration couldn't block oversight visits nor force lawmakers to provide advance notice.
In June, Sec. Kristi Noem had requested that Congressional members provide at least seven days' advance notice before oversight visits. Noem cited safety concerns connected to the visits.
Despite the ruling, Sec. Noem sent out a new directive on Congressional visits just this past Thursday, one day after the Minneapolis shooting. The new directive, again requires seven days' notice of visits unless otherwise approved by Noem directly.
In the directive, Sec. Noem argues that because the facility is running on recent funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill — which doesn't include language requiring Congressional visits — it isn't subject to the findings of the December court ruling. It should be noted the judge came to that same conclusion in his ruling, that some facilities deriving funding from the omnibus bill wouldn't be subject to visits.
The backstory:
The visit comes four days after Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed in south Minneapolis by ICE officer Jonathan Ross. The shooting has sparked days of protests in the Twin Cities, including outside the Whipple Building.
The shooting came amid a surge of ICE officers and Department of Homeland Security investigators in Minnesota.
Timeline:
The reps were briefly stopped at the gate before being allowed to enter within about ten minutes. However, about 30 minutes after entering, the reps were back outside.
Rep. Omar told media members that after initially being invited into the building, they were told their access was denied.
"We were initially invited in to do our Congressional oversight and to exercise our Article I duties," said Omar. "When we made it in, it was with the authorization of someone who's been here for a really long time, who understood that we had a Congressional duty to enter the building and see the facility. Shortly after we were let in, two officials came in and said they received a message that we were no longer allowed to be in the building and that they were rescinding our invitation and denying any further access to the building."