DHS is responding to ridiculous claims made by Democrats after an impromptu visit to a detention facility in Brooklyn, New York.

Congressman Adriano Espaillat claimed that he and fellow Democrats were ‘trapped’ and ‘locked’ in a fence when they attempted to perform congressional oversight of the facility.

 
DHS responded to this, calling it “deeply unserious” and pointed out how these Democrats are lying about what happened:

This is deeply unserious. The Members were not trapped and were free to leave whenever they would like, in fact the BOP, which manages this facility, had to close the gates to prevent the media from trespassing.

Here are the facts: These members did not follow proper protocol and schedule their visit. Instead they brought a gaggle of media to drive clicks and fundraising emails.

As ICE law enforcement have seen a surge in assaults, disruptions, and obstructions to enforcement — including by Member of Congress themselves — any requests to tour processing centers and field offices must be approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. These requests must be part of legitimate congressional oversight activities. ICE officers have seen an 830% surge in assaults.

Visits to detention facilities, requests should be made with sufficient time to prevent interference with the President’s Article II authority to oversee executive department functions—a week is sufficient to ensure no intrusion on the President’s constitutional authority. To protect the President’s Article II authority, any request to shorten that time must be approved by the Secretary.