New York, New York - On Wednesday, Representatives Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez, and Dan Goldman were denied entry to the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Brooklyn immigration detention facility during a congressional oversight visit.

MDC Brooklyn is a federal jail where more than 100 immigrants are being detained under an agreement between US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Officials at the detention center prohibited the three members of Congress from accessing the East Building, where the immigrants are being held.

The lawmakers were reportedly barricaded on the premises for a time, locked between a fence and the building entrance.

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"Denying Members of Congress access to a federal detention facility is outrageous and unacceptable. As Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I won't tolerate this lack of transparency, especially when the lives of immigrant detainees are at stake," Espaillat said in a statement.

"MDC Brooklyn has a well-documented record of abuse. ICE should not be allowed to expand its reach through backdoor deals with federal prisons. This contract must be terminated now," he added.

The lawmakers' visit came as Donald Trump has escalated his assault on immigrant communities with mass detentions and deportations.

“MDC Brooklyn is a secretive, inhumane disaster that should have no place in immigration enforcement. They wouldn't let us in this morning, but we know what they are trying to hide: spoiled food, extreme temperatures, lack of medical care, and unchecked violence," said Daniel Lambright, special counsel for criminal justice litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in June issued new rules limiting when and how elected officials can conduct oversight visits of immigration detention facilities.

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Last week, 12 Democratic lawmakers – including Espaillat and Goldman – sued DHS over its oversight visit policy.

"Members of Congress are entitled to make unannounced visits, especially when there are serious concerns about abuse and neglect," Velázquez said on Wednesday.

New York Immigration Coalition President and CEO Murad Awawdeh, who accompanied the lawmakers during the attempted visit, insisted, "MDC must be held accountable for this egregious action."

"We join our Congressional Representatives to demand the end of illegal detentions, abductions of immigrant NYers at courthouses and on the streets. The Trump administration must end its mass deportation agenda and attacks on immigrants now."