20 changes ICE made to limit congressional oversight

ALSO INSIDE: Leavenworth, Kansas, just stopped ICE from opening up shop in their town

Jun 20, 2025

Cam here 👋 bringing you your daily dose of what people are doing – good, bad, and otherwise – in the world of politics. We’re diving into the stories you won’t see anywhere else. And remember, you can also keep up with me over on TikTok and Bluesky.

And if you’re looking for a little more from COURIER, Akilah Hughes’ new series, “How is This Better?” explores how to survive life under Trump 2.0, and our docuseries “REPRESENT” follows activist + influencer Deja Foxx’s run for Congress.

What Happened

The same day I wrote about the dozens of times ICE has violated the law by denying or severely limiting Congress’ ability to conduct oversight visits at ICE facilities, new guidance was released by the US Department of Homeland Security to try to legalize what they’ve been doing illegally.

I went through and compared the old protocol document DHS created on February 26 with the new protocol released June 18, and found 20 major changes that limit congressional authority and redefine what DHS considers an oversight visit.

Essentially, oversight visits are now defined by DHS as a heavily guided tour of a detention facility: 24-hour notice is required if a member of Congress wants to bring any staff with them, no one — detainees or ICE personal — can be spoken to without prior approval, visitors must always be with an escort, agents can limit how many people can be on the tour, ICE can deny or cancel the visit at any time without reason, and ICE will arrest and pursue legal action against anyone who doesn’t follow the rules.

DHS has also narrowed the definition of an oversight visit to be nothing more than a tour. Visits to inspect operational conditions, security, or healthcare access are no longer considered part of congressionally mandated oversight.

Access to most facilities has been severely limited. The document claims that ICE field offices and federal prison beds leased by ICE aren’t subject to congressional oversight laws, and private facilities contracted by ICE are instructed not to let anyone in — including members of Congress — without prior approval from the agency.

Official congressional lapel pins no longer suffice as ID verification, and being an elected official doesn’t grant them immediate entry. Member of Congress must now show their Member Voting Card, a photo ID, go through a security screening, and have their personal belongings inspected before they can enter a facility.

Interestingly enough, DHS also removed two key descriptors from their congressional visitation protocol: the assurance that “ICE facilities are secure facilities,” and the promise that “ICE will comply with the law” has been changed to “ICE will make every effort to comply with the law.”

This protocol doesn’t change the law, by any means, but it does define how DHS interprets the law, and will be used as a defense of any legal actions taken against elected officials, like when US Sen. Alex Padilla was handcuffed and detained by DHS officers, or when New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s arrested by federal agents at an immigration court, or when US Rep. Monica McIver’s federal indictment for attempting to conduct an oversight visit on a detention facility in her district.

Attempts to Sanewash

Far-Right Spin

Kansas community rejects ICE’s private prison proposal

In lieu of illegally deporting people without due process, DHS is feverishly expanding its partnership with the private prison industry in order to house the thousands of people arrested by the agency — including immigrants, US citizens, and children. Lucrative,no-bid contracts have been awarded to prison corporations CoreCivic and The Geo Group for them to reopen closed detention facilities all across the country.

Communities are often unaware that detention facilities have opened due to a section in the contract that authorizes contractors to circumvent local laws, like public input, safety inspections, and obtaining permits, in the name of “compelling urgency.” But one community in the Midwest did find out about CoreCivic’s planned 1,000-bed facility — and so far, they’ve stopped CoreCivic in its tracks.

ICE agreed to pay CoreCivic $4 million a month to reopen and run a prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, and gave it the green light to begin operations without obtaining city approval.

The city council was not pleased, and neither were the residents of Leavenworth. Grassroots groups held protests, and the council filed a lawsuit in March to halt the facility from opening until CoreCivic obtained the proper permits.

The lawsuit was thrown out on a technicality, but the city filed another one, and this one stuck. Leavenworth County Judge John Bryant issued a restraining order against CoreCivic, preventing them from reopening the prison until the lawsuit is resolved.

Since taking office in 2015, Rep. Norman has:

Seen his net worth increase from $53M to $66M
Taken out over $300,000 in PPP loans that he never paid back
Sponsored 160 bills
Authored one bill that has been signed into law, to rename a post office
Privately pressured Trump to invoke martial law—or has he called it, “Marshall Law” — to prevent Biden from being sworn in as president
Sued Nancy Pelosi over House rules that required Members to wear a mask on the Floor, refused to wear a mask while he had COVID-19
Tried to reinstate disgraced white supremacist, Nazi-sympathiser Rep. Steve King

Fun Facts

While Rep. Norman campaigned on preventing economic hardship, he returned to his multimillionaire roots when his term began in 2025. Two months after being sworn in, he cosponsored a bill to create a new $250 bill with Donald Trump’s face on it.

During the 2018 confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh for US Supreme Court Justice, which revealed a troubling history of alleged sexual assault, Norman dismissed the allegations. He tried to make a joke out of them, including facetiously claiming that fellow Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been sexually assaulted by Abraham Lincoln.

A few months before Norman “accused” the sixteenth US President of sexual assault, he met with a group of parents who were concerned about gun safety. Norman responded by pulling a gun on them. Those involved tried to press charges, but the first prosecutor recused himself due to his personal friendship with Norman. The request made its way to the Republican state attorney general, who dismissed the charges.

coppercourier

A post shared by @coppercourier

Arizona County approves bonuses for detention officers

From The Copper Courier’s Alyssa Bickle

In a time when public outcry over the prison industrial complex’s expansion by the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policy is at a fever pitch, one county has taken a bold approach to being part of the conversation: bonuses for detention officers.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors this month approved a $30 million compensation package for detention officers, giving them one-time bonuses over a three-year period.

The first round of bonuses will be paid out immediately; the amount will depend on how many years the officer has worked for the state. Officers with 20 years on the job will receive $10,000, while new hires will receive $1,500.

Retention bonuses through 2028 are also part of the package: officers currently employed by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office will receive a $2,500 retention bonus next year, a $5,000 bonus in 2027, and another $7,500 in 2028.

The taxpayer-funded incentive will go to any officer employed by the county who is responsible for those held in custody, including:

Individuals in jail awaiting trial
Those who have been sentenced and are serving prison time
People arrested by ICE The

Advertise in this newsletter

Do you or your company want to support COURIER’s mission and showcase your products or services to an aligned audience of 190,000+ subscribers at the same time? Contact advertising@couriernewsroom.com for more information.