Reps. Lee, Deluzio, PA Colleagues Introduce Bill to Expand Congressional Oversight at ICE Facilities

Text of Bill (PDF)

PITTSBURGH, PA – August 17, 2026 — Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), and Congressman Dwight Evans (PA-03) introduced the new Oversight Access Act of 2026.

This bill would allow for Representatives to bring one member of their staff inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities when conducting oversight, without prior notice. This would allow for additional translation services and more capacity to conduct oversight. Under a current Trump Administration rule, Members of Congress can enter the facility unannounced but interpreters and other staff must receive prior approval, defeating the purpose of unannounced oversight visits. 

“Congressional oversight works when Members of Congress have the proper tools they need, and our staff play a critical role in that work, from providing translation services to bringing legal and policy expertise to the table. It’s been made clear abuse, neglect, and inhumane conditions have plagued detention centers. Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility and right to conduct oversight, and we must be able to do our jobs without obstruction or intimidation. No administration is above accountability,” said Congresswoman Summer Lee.

“Moshannon officials blocked my staff from joining our oversight visit this May, and it limited the conversations we could have with people detained inside. Unannounced congressional oversight visits to federal facilities are powerful and important accountability measures. However, unannounced oversight would be far stronger if Members of Congress could be accompanied by a staff member who could provide translation services, legal guidance, or policy expertise. I’m introducing the Oversight Access Act to make this fix and expand congressional oversight at ICE facilities,” said Congressman Chris Deluzio.

 “Congress has a solemn duty to conduct oversight at ICE facilities in Pennsylvania and across the country, but ICE’s arbitrary rules have made that more difficult. As a member of the Appropriations Committee, I care deeply about ensuring that any facility receiving federal dollars lives up to the highest standards of care, decency, and safety. I am grateful to Congressman Deluzio, Congresswoman Scanlon, Congresswoman Lee, and Congressman Evans for their partnership on this critical legislation, which would strengthen Congressional oversight and make it easier for members of Congress and our staff to visit ICE facilities unannounced,” said Congresswoman Madeleine Dean.

“When a Member of Congress visits an ICE detention facility to conduct congressional oversight, they must be able to do so effectively. That includes being able to bring an essential staff member or interpreter to support this critical duty. I am proud to lead the Oversight Access Act with Reps. Deluzio, Dean, Lee, and Evans to ensure that future unannounced oversight visits include a staff member,” said Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon.

“Over the past year and a half, we have seen numerous reports of inhumane, even deadly conditions of ICE detention facilities. I’m proud to join this effort to demand more transparency and oversight of the Trump-Vance Administration’s actions,” said Congressman Dwight Evans.

The lawmakers are introducing this bill after Rep. Lee and Rep. Deluzio conducted an unannounced oversight visit of ICE’s largest detention center in Pennsylvania, the Moshannon Valley Detention Center. At the site, the congressmembers were not permitted to bring their congressional staff inside the facility. These staff were immigration policy experts and able to provide translation services. ICE blocking congressional staff from entering the facility limited the congressmembers’ ability to communicate with people detained inside Moshannon. 

Specifically, the bill would: 

• Remove the requirement of prior notice for a Member or an employee to enter any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security. 
• Prohibits temporary modification in any such facility that would alter what is observed by a Member of Congress while conducting oversight. 
• Prohibit the Secretary of Homeland Security from preventing Members of Congress and congressional employees accompanying a Member from entering a facility with the purpose of conducting oversight. 

The full text of the Oversight Access Act is available here.

Congresswoman Summer Lee has been a leading voice in Congress demanding accountability, transparency, and an end to ICE’s cruel detention and deportation system. She recently wrote letters to the ICE and the GEO Group, the for-profit prison corporation that owns and operates Moshannon Valley Detention Center in Philipsburg, PA, to demand answers on GEO’s failure to comply with federal standards of adequate staffing and medical care to detainees, as well as obstruction of congressional oversight. She also sent a letter with Rep. Deluzio to the HHS and Office of Refugee Resettlement demanding answers about ORR's decision to place unaccompanied migrant children at Abraxas Academy in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, despite the facility's extensive record of documented child abuse violations. 

Rep. Lee has called to abolish ICE and oppose billions in additional ICE funding, introduced legislation to end ICE detention and redirect funding toward care, due process, and community-based services, demanded answers from ICE after the detention of a Brentwood asylum seeker, visited and called for the closure of the Moshannon Detention Facility following reports of abuse, retaliation, and a hunger strike, and recently conducted oversight of ICE detention conditions at Moshannon Valley ICE Detention Center after being illegally denied entry. She also released a statement after public reporting confirmed that the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the death of Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian immigrant who died after being released from ICE custody, a homicide.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Judiciary and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.7 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 4,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.