Democratic members of Congress from California and New York say that they were blocked from entering federal detention facilities over the weekend while seeking to inspect conditions and check on individuals detained during immigration raids and related protests.
In Los Angeles, the US House members Maxine Waters, Jimmy Gomez and Norma Torres each said that they were denied entry to the Metropolitan federal detention center, outside of which there had been anti-immigration customs enforcement (Ice) protests.
Gomez and Torres attempted to visit the facility on Saturday, saying they sought to investigate “Ice’s inhumane detention of immigrant families”.
In a video posted outside the building after they were turned away, Gomez said that their positions in Congress gave them the right to conduct oversight of the detention conditions and the welfare of the people detained.
Gomez also claimed that officers outside the federal building sprayed an irritant in the air to “push us back” and “get us to leave” – and said that most of the people around them were attorneys, members of Congress, journalists and organizers.
“This is really to prevent us from doing our jobs” Gomez said, and Torres called it “unconscionable”.
In the video outside the detention center, Gomez said there were “only about 20” protesters outside the building.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement to the Guardian that “at the time lawmakers tried to enter the federal building, more than 1,000 rioters had surrounded the building”.
The spokesperson said, in part, that “the lawmakers were turned away in the interest of their safety and the safety of our law enforcement”.
On Sunday, Waters also attempted to enter the federal facility, saying that she wanted to check on David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California, who was detained while observing the immigration raids on Friday.
A video captured by CNN shows Waters being denied entry as the door was shut in her face.
Elsewhere in California, Congress members Gilbert R Cisneros Jr, Judy Chu and Derek Tran reported being blocked from entering Adelanto Ice processing center on Sunday.
Cisneros said that they were attempting to “conduct congressional oversight at the Adelanto Ice facility” but that “they locked the gate, ignored our calls, and denied us entry”.
“I will continue to press for answers as our community is under attack,” he added.
In New York, Congress members Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez said that they were denied access to a Manhattan detention facility, where they had sought to perform a drop-in check to investigate the conditions.
“We are very concerned about what is happening in this building,” Espaillat said after being denied entry. “We will continue to come back until we are allowed to have access.”
The DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to the Guardian that the New York lawmakers “showed up unannounced and demanded entry while law enforcement operations were being conducted”.
“They were told by Ice that they would be happy to give them a tour with a little more notice, when it would not disrupt ongoing law enforcement activities and sensitive law enforcement items could be put away,” she added. “We will always prioritize the safety of our officers and operations.”
