Additional Coverage:
- Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar faces off with dozens of ICE agents as she’s denied entry to detention center (themirror.com)
Minnesota Lawmakers Denied Access to ICE Detention Center Amidst Heightened Tensions
ST. PAUL, MN – A confrontation unfolded Saturday morning at the Whipple Federal Building in St.
Paul as U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar and fellow Democratic lawmakers were denied entry to an ICE detention facility, despite federal law granting them access.
The incident occurred amidst widespread protests across the Twin Cities demanding ICE’s departure following the fatal shooting of a woman by an ICE agent earlier in the week.
Rep. Omar, joined by Representatives Angie Craig and Kelly Morrison, arrived at the facility around 9:30 a.m. with an invitation to tour from a former acting director. However, upon their arrival, they were informed that the invitation had been rescinded.
“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,” Rep. Omar stated.
Federal law explicitly permits members of Congress to visit ICE detention centers at any time. However, the agency has reportedly attempted to restrict access in the past, citing concerns that such visits were used for “political theater” by Democrats.
Rep. Craig emphasized the lawmakers’ right and responsibility to be present.
“We’re here because we’re members of Congress. We have every right and responsibility if we’re doing our jobs to be here today, to see what the conditions are in that detention center,” she asserted, calling on Republicans to “stand up to their own party.”
The lawmakers were reportedly told that their denial of entry stemmed from the facility’s funding through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a justification Rep. Morrison dismissed as making “no sense.” She added, “With the recent reaffirmation of the court case in December, they’re breaking the law.”
Before being removed, Rep. Omar observed approximately 20 individuals detained within the facility. She also reported that officials informed her detainees are not provided with hygiene products because they are not held long enough to require them.
This confrontation comes on the heels of the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathon Ross in Minneapolis on Wednesday, an event that has ignited protests throughout Minnesota and across the country. State prosecutors announced on Friday their intention to launch an independent investigation into the shooting, a move that contrasts with the Trump administration’s stance that only the FBI would handle the case.