Rep. Ilhan Omar said she and other Minnesota lawmakers were removed from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Minneapolis on Saturday after federal officials enforced a new Trump administration rule requiring advance notice for congressional visits, as reported by Fox News.
Omar said she visited ICE’s Whipple Building alongside fellow Minnesota Democrat Rep. Angie Craig, describing the trip as part of their congressional oversight responsibilities.
According to Omar, the group was initially allowed inside the facility before being told their access had been revoked.
“We were initially invited in to do our congressional oversight and to exercise our Article I duties,” Omar told reporters following the incident.
“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.”
Omar said that access was later withdrawn.
“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,” she continued.
The incident came as the administration of President Donald Trump implemented a new rule on Saturday requiring members of Congress to provide at least one week’s notice before entering an ICE facility.
Federal officials described the move as a clarification of access policies governing facilities operated with non-appropriated funds.
The order marks the administration’s second attempt to impose advance-notice requirements for congressional visits to immigration facilities.
A federal judge previously struck down a similar policy issued by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ruling that federal spending laws require members of Congress to have unrestricted access to facilities that receive congressional appropriations.
Omar said her group was able to briefly question officials inside the building before being told to leave. She said the questions focused on hygiene standards for detainees and the length of time individuals remain at the facility.
Omar characterized the responses she received as “insane,” and accused officials of downplaying how long detainees are held there.
Federal officials countered that the new rule complies with federal law because the Minneapolis facility is funded through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rather than through direct congressional appropriations.
Officials said that distinction places the facility outside the scope of the earlier court ruling cited by Omar.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the decision to remove the lawmakers in a statement provided to reporters by DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.
McLaughlin said the lawmakers entered the facility “with the explicit goal of ‘hunting down’ ICE officers who they believed may have been staying there.”
“For the safety of detainees and staff, and in compliance with the agency’s mandate, the members of Congress were notified that their visit was improper and out of compliance with existing court orders and policies, which mandate that members of Congress must notify ICE at least seven days in advance of congressional visits,” McLaughlin said.
ICE and DHS officials did not say whether additional guidance will be issued to members of Congress regarding access to facilities funded outside the traditional appropriations process.
Omar and Craig said they intend to continue pressing for what they describe as oversight access to immigration detention facilities in Minnesota.
