Overview

• Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez and Dan Goldman were denied entry and held between a fence and a locked gate at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn during an unannounced visit on August 6.
• Members of Congress cite Section 5-27 of the Homeland Security Act and the 2019 DHS appropriations law to justify unannounced inspections of DHS detention sites.
• DHS and ICE maintain that new guidance reclassifying the Brooklyn jail as a BOP-managed site requires at least seven days’ advance notice for all congressional tours.
• MDC Brooklyn holds over 100 immigrant detainees under an ICE-BOP contract and has drawn scrutiny for inhumane conditions and high-profile incarcerations.
• The lawmakers pledged to return for further oversight, demand a federal investigation into ICE’s contract with the facility and pursue legal action to restore unannounced access.