A congressmember from upstate New York was blocked from inspecting an immigration detention facility outside of Buffalo this week, the latest in a pattern of Department of Homeland Security officials blocking oversight visits.

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko said he traveled to the jail complex in Batavia to check on residents of his Capital Region district who he believed were being held there. Federal law allows congressmembers to visit detention facilities without any prior notice.

The Democrat posted a video on Instagram on Wednesday with the facility’s guard gate in the background. It showed him waving a copy of a June DHS inspector general’s report that found the facility’s medical team was understaffed as well as instances where guards used force improperly.

“The results of this repor

See Full Page