Maryland lawmakers denied entry at ICE facility, Homeland Security responds

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem criticized U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on Monday, after he and other lawmakers tried to inspect a migrant detention facility, accusing the lawmaker of prioritizing the rights of criminal illegal immigrants over Americans. 

Van Hollen, a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s illegal immigration raids, was part of a Maryland congressional delegation that was denied entry to inspect a Baltimore U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility.

The lawmakers, which included Van Hollen and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, and U.S. Reps. Glenn Ivey, Johnny Olzewski Jr., Sarah Elfreth and Kweisi Mfume, staged a sit-in upon being denied entry. 

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Homeland Security Secretary posted images of four illegal immigrants arrested on suspicion of various crimes.  (Department of Homeland Security)

“President Trump lied to the American people when he said the Trump administration was simply going to focus on the worst of the worst,” Van Hollen said outside the facility. 

In response to the sit-in, Noem posted the image of four unidentified illegal immigrants arrested for various crimes, including rape, possession of child pornography, sexual abuse of a minor and murder. 

“These are the monsters that @ChrisVanHollen is protecting over American victims,” she wrote on X. 

U.S. Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D, Md., who was part of Monday’s delegation, said they were denied entry despite following the legal requirements to enter. 

“Congress has a legal right to inspect ICE facilities,” he wrote on social media. “Amid reports of inhumane conditions, this refusal is alarming. We won’t stop fighting for accountability.”

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Maryland congressional lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and U.S. Reps. Glenn Ivey, Johnny Olszewski Jr., Sarah Elfreth and Kweisi Mfume, staged a sit-in at a Baltimore ICE office on Monday.  (Rep. Rep. Johnny Olszewski ; X)

A post in response by the Department of Homeland Security accused the lawmaker of wanting a “photo op.”

“Congressman, if you need a photo op with the violent criminal illegal aliens you are protecting—schedule a TOUR,” the post states. “As for 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.”

Van Hollen has come under heavy criticism for his advocacy for suspected gang member Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia.

Van Hollen was the first of several Democratic lawmakers to fly to visit Abrego Garcia after he was deported to a high-security prison in his home country, El Salvador, in March.

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Abrego Garcia, 29, has been returned to the U.S. and is facing charges in a sealed federal indictment in Tennessee for alleged conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens.

Though many Democrats claim Abrego Garcia is an innocent man who was wrongly deported, the administration has pointed to considerable evidence that he is a member of the MS-13 gang. According to court records filed by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, he also allegedly physically abused her on multiple occasions.

“As I have repeatedly said, this is not about the man. It’s about his constitutional rights, and the rights of all,” Van Hollen told Fox News Digital in June about the case. “The administration will now have to make its case in the court of law, as it should have all along.”