MCFARLAND, Calif. (KERO) — Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Jim Costa were turned away Monday morning after showing up unannounced at the ICE detention facility in McFarland, raising new questions about access and oversight.
It was a visit that lasted just over an hour, but one that ended without the lawmakers ever making it inside.
Padilla and Costa arrived at the facility at around 11:30 a.m. After being told officials from ICE's Fresno office needed to be on site before the visit could move forward, the two were denied entry.
For Padilla, that explanation wasn't enough.
“To claim there’s certain things they can’t do without someone from the ICE office in Fresno to come out here is not believable, it’s unacceptable and it’s insulting,” said Padilla.
Citing allegations of misconduct involving ICE agents and conditions inside detention centers, the lawmakers said they deliberately arrived without notice.
After being turned away, Padilla and Costa said they demanded to know what law or policy gave the facility the authority to deny them access.
“When we asked him point-blank what section of the law prevents you from allowing us to visit and make our own inspection and he said, 'Well, I’ve been told that I’m not allowed to let you visit without ICE agents on the premises,'” said Costa.
Under federal law, members of Congress can show up, unannounced, to any immigration detention facility and the Department of Homeland Security cannot legally use its funding to stop them from getting in.
The visit comes amid increased ice activity across California and, more recently, in the Central Valley.
Padilla said this would have been his fifth unannounced visit to an ICE detention facility in California and that he was not surprised they were denied access.
23ABC reached out to ICE, asking why the lawmakers were turned away and for clarification on its policy for congressional visits, but did not receive a response as of the publication of this story.
“There was a lot of questions we were ready to ask but now the question we’re leaving with is, what do they have to hide,” said Padilla.
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