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Several Democratic lawmakers on Sunday paid a "surprise Father's Day visit" to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in New Jersey, capping off a week of heightened tensions surrounding the issue of migrant family separations.
Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.), Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), Albio Sires (N.J.) and Bill Pascrell (N.J.) arrived around 9 a.m. at the Elizabeth, N.J., center, which houses migrants who were separated from their families after illegally crossing the border.
According to Jeffries, the lawmakers were blocked from entering the facility after meeting initial resistance from ICE staff.