ICE denies Rep. Matsui access to Sacramento facilities for a second time

Mathew Miranda, The Sacramento Bee on Aug 28, 2025

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For the second time in a week, Rep. Doris Matsui was blocked from entering Sacramento immigration facilities where she and other elected leaders sought to investigate reports of people detained overnight without adequate shelter.

The rejected visit marked the latest attempt to gain clarity on the conditions inside the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement office in downtown Sacramento. Earlier this month, reports surfaced that ICE was keeping individuals overnight for consecutive days with limited water, little access to restrooms and no air conditioning. Matsui, who argued argued she has a “constitutional mandate” to tour the facility, was denied access last week.

On Thursday morning around 8 a.m., Matsui returned — with Sacramento County Board Chairman Phil Serna and City Councilmember Eric Guerra — only to be turned away again.

This time, however, the elected leaders said they talked with an immigration official who admitted to holding two people overnight. Those two people were flown out that morning to Seattle, the official allegedly told them.

The official also struggled to answer if people held overnight had beds to sleep on, according to the elected leaders.

“It took almost a minute to answer a yes-or-no question,” Guerra said. “That question should have been very simple. … The takeaway is that they were doing something wrong.”

ICE did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. The agency has not denied holding individuals overnight in previous requests from The Sacramento Bee.

The alleged conditions inside the Sacramento facilities would not meet ICE standards as holding rooms must be well ventilated and equipped to provide toilets that allow for privacy. The circumstances also follow similar reports across the country that immigrants are being kept inside overcrowded offices designed to only hold people for a few hours. Some Democratic members of Congress, including those in Texas, New York and Illinois, have unsuccessfully tried to enter these facilities.

Matsui and local elected officials responded last week with letters and public statements demanding transparency and access into the facility. Matsui arrived at the John E. Moss federal building, which holds offices for several agencies, on Aug. 22, but was denied permission to inspect the conditions.

Matusi said on Thursday that her office is in “negotiating” a time with immigration officials to return. She could not provide an exact date, but promised to keep returning to the building.

“I want them to know that we’re watching,” Matsui said.

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