Three New York Members of Congress were denied entry to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn Wednesday morning, sparking outrage and renewed demands for federal oversight and transparency.

US Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez, and Dan Goldman arrived at the MDC on Aug. 6 for an unannounced visit to the facility, which currently holds more than 100 immigrants under a new agreement between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

The visit, intended to assess detainee conditions, quickly escalated. A federal officer locked the gate behind the group, trapping them briefly inside. Attorneys who arrived to visit clients were also turned away as the building went into lockdown.

“We asked the federal officer to remove his face covering an

See Full Page