Lawmakers have been trying to enter MDC to see the conditions in which around 100 immigrants are being held.
Goldman says that last week, Bureau of Prisons (BOP) officials promised to accommodate a tour of the facility if given advanced notice of a visit, so he gave notice on Friday, August 8th.
Despite the advanced notice, he wasn't allowed in.
Under Section 527(a) of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, members of Congress are given the authority to inspect any facility being used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to detain or house immigrants -- without any prior notice needed.
"I want to understand why they are not letting me in," Goldman said.
In July, Goldman and 11 other members of Congress filed a suit against the Trump administration over its refusal to allow members of Congress to access ICE detention facilities, including 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan.
"A federal judge found that DHS was holding immigration detainees in illegal and unconstitutional conditions at 26 Federal Plaza and ordered DHS to immediately improve those inhumane conditions," Goldman said in a statement. "For months, DHS denied allegations of dreadful conditions and prevented me from accessing the 26 Federal Plaza detention facility to inspect the conditions. Now we know that DHS has been lying to the American people for months."
Last month, videos obtained by Eyewitness News purported to show the conditions inside the facility at 26 Federal Plaza.
Videos shared by a detainee with a local civic group appeared to show over a dozen people inside the room, with several detainees laying on the cement floor on thermal blankets. It also showed two toilets that were separated from the rest of the men by only a waist-high wall.
Goldman pointed out that the denial of access came less than 24 hours after a federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to improve conditions at a separate ICE detention facility at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, where Goldman has also been trying to enter the facility to expose inhumane conditions.
"BOP is now helping DHS stash immigrants in their jails and preventing members of Congress from conducting oversight," Goldman said. "The American people deserve a government that tells the truth, follows the law, and does not cover up abuse."
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