Congresswoman Lorie Tran visits Burlington ICE office, calls for continued oversight of detainee practices

Congresswoman Lorie Tran toured the Burlington Immigration and Customs Enforcement administrative enforcement office last week and told reporters the site functions primarily as an investigative office rather than a long-term detention center.

Tran said the office granted the visit without restrictions and that staff answered questions during a roughly 90-minute tour. She expressed concern about people detained who have no criminal histories, asking how those cases are handled and where detainees are sent after leaving the facility.

Referring to a recent case in her district, Tran said it was unacceptable that a teen was transferred out of state before a federal judge ordered her return to Massachusetts. "It's absolutely unacceptable that we arrest children . . . using children as bait," Tran said, and she described the matter from the perspective of a parent.

Tran called for continued congressional oversight of ICE, saying enforcement practices vary around the country and must be accountable to law. The visit and remarks came as the Department of Homeland Security faces a prolonged funding lapse that speakers in the transcript linked to staffing shortages and operational impacts at agencies including TSA and ICE.

Outside the facility, the transcript reports weekly protests by local advocacy groups and community members calling for changes to federal immigration enforcement practices.