Inspecting Ice Facilities

Kristi Noem has instituted a policy that members of congress must give advance notice of a week if they want to inspect ICE facilities. This is, of course, completely illegal and members of congress should, and I presume are, suing to throw out that policy. But inspecting these facilities should not wait for courts to act. They should go ahead, give notice, and make their visits. 

First of all, we would then find out if ICE would actually open their doors then. The requirement for notice is a transparent excuse for turning away congressional visits and hiding what goes on there. Will there be a new excuse as soon as they get the notice that they say they need? 

If the fear is that they clean up the place, and maybe even move people out, in preparation for congressional visits, the obvious counter strategy is serial visits. A congress member gives notice that they will visit next Tuesday. Another member says they will be visiting on Thursday. A third schedules a visit for Saturday, and they just keep rolling it over.

We need to get eyes inside these facilities even if it means meeting absurd and illegitimate conditions while lawsuits work their way through the system.