Rep. Jimmy Gomez says DHS ‘grasping at straws’ to prevent oversight at ICE facilities

L.A. Rep. Jimmy Gomez said he was “impressed” last month when the lawmaker was able to visit the downtown immigration holding facility known as B-18 without a hassle and without giving advance notice. Prior to that, when the government ramped up its deportation campaign last summer, he had been denied entry because he hadn’t given advance notice.

He and fellow Congressional Democrats sued and won a ruling in December. But the window of unfettered visitation rights didn’t last long.

Last week, the Department of Homeland Security issued a new set of rules, again requiring a week’s notice ahead of Congressional oversight visits.

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An emergency hearing is being held Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., to determine whether the new rules are legal.

Gomez and others say they can’t properly monitor the spending of taxpayer money without being able to do surprise oversight visits.

“The drop-in visits allow us to document what the true conditions are, not when they're getting ready for an inspection,” he said.

Congress members became aware of the government’s new advance-notice rules after several Minnesota representatives tried to visit an ICE facility in Minneapolis last week, a day after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good. They were denied entry.

In an internal memo dated Jan. 8, Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem wrote that the new visitation rules did not violate the court ruling because they came from a different funding stream than the one requiring unfettered access for Congressional oversight.

“I think that they’re just  grasping at straws,” said Gomez, who represents the 34th Congressional district, including downtown and East L.A.

U.S. Congressman Jimmy Gomez walks out of the Roybal Federal Building on Dec. 19, 2025, after inspecting the immigration detention facility inside.

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Jordan Rynning

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LAist

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What Gomez saw on his visit to B-18

Gomez visited B-18, located in the basement of the downtown federal building, Dec. 19. He said there were no beds or blankets, no kitchen facilities and no medical personnel for the 120 people being held there at the time.

“So if something happens, they might not be able to get somebody the treatment they need quickly enough to deal with an emergency,” Gomez said.

As a temporary immigration processing facility, B-18 is normally supposed to hold detainees for no more than 12 hours, per federal rules. But immigration officials waived that time limit at the height of the raids in L.A. last year, allowing people to be detained there for up to 72 hours. That rule is still in effect.

“The problem is that they're still keeping people there way too long for the type of facility it is, endangering their lives,” Gomez said.

At least 20 people died in ICE custody in 2025, the highest number in two decades. That includes two Orange County residents, both of whom were being held at the ICE detention center in Adelanto. No deaths have been reported at B-18.

What’s the big deal about advanced notice?

In her Jan. 8 memo, Sec. Noem said advance notice of congressional visits was necessary to ensure the safety of ICE employees, detainees and Congress members and staff. She also wrote that there was “an increasing trend of replacing legitimate oversight activities with circus-like publicity stunts.”

Media and pro-immigration activists have accompanied Congress members on some of their attempts to visit ICE facilities, including last week in Minneapolis.

How to watchdog your local government

Corruption and scandals are disheartening to read about when it comes to your local government. But one of the best things you can do to hold officials accountable is to pay attention.

Your city council, board of supervisors, school board and more all hold public meetings that anybody can attend. These are times you can talk to your elected officials directly and hear about the policies they’re voting on that affect your community.

Thinking of attending for the first time? Here are some tips to get you started.