U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed new restrictions on congressional visits, a policy change that is likely to escalate tensions between the controversial federal law enforcement agency and its critics.

ICE detailed the policy changes in a memo published to its website. Under the new rules, ICE asserts that lawmakers must give 72 hours of advance notice before visiting an ICE field office. Lawmakers are explicitly allowed by law to visit ICE facilities that “detain or otherwise house aliens” unannounced, but the agency wants to stop surprise visits to its broader constellation of immigration enforcement centers across the country, which it claims do not meet that criteria.

The new guidance comes as Democrats clash with the Trump administration over its immigration crackdown, which has targeted refugees who were offered legal status during the Biden administration, mistakenly deported a Maryland resident to a

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