Judy Gilford
on January 11, 2026
0 views
UPDATE — Here’s what actually happened at the Whipple ICE facility. Ilhan Omar is now claiming she was blocked from doing congressional oversight.
That’s not what happened.
Here’s the real sequence — using her own words, minus the spin:
Omar, along with Angie Craig and Kelly Morrison, tried to enter the Whipple facility in Minneapolis.
They were not formally authorized at the federal level.
They were initially let inside by a longtime on-site employee — not by ICE leadership, not by DHS, and not through a congressional clearance process.
Once supervisors realized what had happened, they rescinded access and escorted them out.
Why?
Because the Whipple Center is a BBB-funded facility, not a congressional building, and Article I oversight authority does not give members of Congress unlimited access to every federal or federally-adjacent site — especially active detention and transfer centers.
Here's what she said outside the facility:
Ilhan Omar: "Myself, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota's 5th district along with Angie Craig, the Congresswoman for Minnesota's 2nd district, and Kelly Morrison, the Congresswoman for Minnesota's 3rd district, made an attempt to enter Whipple Center here in Minneapolis. We were initially invited in to do our congressional oversight and to exercise our Article I duties. When we made it in, it was with the authorization of someone who's been here for a really long time who understood that we had a congressional duty to enter the building and to see the facility. Shortly after we were let in, two officials came in and said that they received a message that we were no longer allowed to be in the building and that they were rescinding our invitation to come in and declining any further access to the building. When we initially entered, I'll briefly describe what we saw. We were taken into the monitoring center. We were able to see where people were brought in. We were informed that there are two planes that are taking off today, taking detainees out of this center into other detention centers within the United States. We did ask if those were deportation flights. We were told no. When we entered the detention center, we were able to observe about 20 people that were being detained there briefly. We also were told that there were showers we weren't able to see. We asked if there were hygiene products provided. They told us people are not held long enough to need those, which is insane because we've heard from people who have been detained here before. And so I will let my colleagues also share their observation, but I will end with this. What happened today is a blatant attempt to obstruct members of Congress from doing their oversight duties. When we appropriate funds as members of Congress, we are expected by the public to do oversight because the public requires their money be used with transparency and accountability. And what happened today is ICE agents deciding that we were no longer allowed to fulfill our constitutional duties."
Dimension: 713 x 424
File Size: 32.77 Kb
Like (1)
Loading...
1