{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://horsford.house.gov/media/press-releases/horsford-on-inspecting-pahrump-ice-facility-congressional-oversight-is-never-optional", "Horsford on Inspecting Pahrump ICE Facility: Congressional Oversight is Never Optional", "2025-08-19", "2025", "2025-08", "Democrat", "House", "NV", "Steven Horsford", "H001066", "horsford.house.gov", "horsford", "https://horsford.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "LAS VEGAS \u2013 Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) today conducted Congressional oversight of the Nevada Southern Detention Center (NSDC), a privately-owned facility managed by CoreCivic under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Pahrump, Nevada.\n\nHorsford\u2019s inspection came three weeks after he was denied entry to the same facility, and on the same day he sent a letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security requesting an investigation into the incident.\n\n\u201cThe Constitution is clear, and so are our laws \u2013 Congressional oversight is never optional,\u201d Rep. Horsford said. \u201cI am concerned that the Department of Homeland Security neglected its obligations when I initially tried to visit this facility. Based on conversations I had with detainees today, I\u2019m also concerned that DHC used the past three weeks to make improvements before I arrived.\n\n\u201cI spoke with nine detainees today, and what they shared with me is deeply concerning,\u201d Horsford continued. \u201cMedical treatment can take weeks; detainees do not have reliable access to immigration attorneys or resources; and many have been moved across state lines in the dead of night without advanced notice or understanding of where they were going.\n\n\u201cWhat I saw today underscores the importance of Congressional oversight,\u201d Horsford added. \u201cIt speaks to why administration officials must honor our Constitution, and why Members of Congress must fight to protect our authority. That is why I requested an investigation from the House Appropriations Committee today, and I look forward to working with the Committee to uphold our laws and our Constitution.\u201d\n\nAlarming footage highlighted in Horsford\u2019s letter shows the facility warden refusing entry to the lawmaker and his staff, and labeling them, \u201csecurity risks\u201d. On-site staff went so far as to call law enforcement on the Congressman.\n\nHorsford\u2019s letter asks, in part, for an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s noncompliance on his previous visit, and for the committee to, \u201cconsider appropriate corrective actions, including the potential conditioning of future appropriations to ensure full adherence to Congressional oversight obligations as outlined under federal law.\u201d\n\nBy law, no Member of Congress is required to give advanced notice to inspect an ICE facility. Every appropriations package since 2020 explicitly states that funds cannot be used to prevent a member of Congress \u201cfrom entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight, any facility operated by or for the Department of Homeland Security used to detain or otherwise house aliens.\u201d\n\nText of Rep. Horsford\u2019s letter is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:57:50Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://horsford.house.gov/media/press-releases/horsford-on-inspecting-pahrump-ice-facility-congressional-oversight-is-never-optional"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 3.681234084069729, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}