Pennsylvania lawmakers are pushing for more oversight at ICE facilities.
On Monday, five Pennsylvania representatives, including Chris Deluzio (PA-17) and Summer Lee (PA-12), introduced the Oversight Access Act of 2026.
The lawmakers say the bill will allow Reps. to bring a member of their staff into ICE facilities during oversight, without prior notice. In turn, this will allow for additional translation services and more oversight capacity.
Current rules allow members of Congress to enter a facility unannounced, but interpreters and other staff need prior approval.
“Moshannon officials blocked my staff from joining our oversight visit this May, and it limited the conversations we could have with people detained inside,” Deluzio said. “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.”
Deluzio and Lee were the first Congress members to gain access to the Moshannon ICE facility, after reports raised allegations of inhumane conditions inside. Their staffers, immigration policy experts who could provide translation services, were not allowed inside.
“Much of what we heard from leadership here sounded positive and yet we heard real complaints, especially from the women willing to speak,” Deluzio said back in May.
Some of those complaints include concerns about food and medical treatment.
Just two weeks ago, Deluzio and Lee sent a letter to ICE and GEO Group (the for-profit corporation that owns the facility) demanding answers about alleged violations at the detention center.
The bill that this trip brought about would do the following if enacted:
- 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.
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