"I've been here 25 years and I've never been told by the Speaker of the House that I can't attend a meeting I've requested," Rep. Luis Gutierrez said. | AP Photo House Democrats say they were kicked out of meeting with ICE official

Several House Democrats said they were kicked out of a meeting with a top federal immigration official Thursday, and accused Speaker Paul Ryan of the strong-arm move.

"I'm pretty shaken," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.). "I've been here 25 years and I've never been told by the Speaker of the House that I can't attend a meeting I've requested."


Ten Democrats attended the meeting with acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan, according to a list obtained by POLITICO, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.).

A source inside the room said House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte told Democrats not on the list to leave. The Virginia Republican defended his decision, saying in a brief interview afterwards that the arrangement was "agreed upon ahead of time" and noting there were more Democrats than Republicans in the meeting.

"The speaker’s office organized a small bipartisan briefing that was, at the request of DHS, limited to members with jurisdictional interests in immigration enforcement," said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, who did not attend the meeting.

"Members of the CHC expressed interest in attending, and to accommodate the request, we welcomed the chair of the CHC to join on behalf of the other members," Strong said. "We are confident that the CHC chair is capable of representing the views of her caucus, and this arrangement was made very clear to the CHC ahead of time."

The meeting with Homan came after he abruptly canceled a planned gathering earlier this week with House Democrats, who said they were told the meeting needed to be bipartisan. Lujan Grisham said at the end of the meeting that Homan had agreed to meet with the full Hispanic caucus in the future.

Democrats want answers about the nearly 700 undocumented immigrants who were arrested in ICE raids across multiple states last week. Democrats say they fear the immigration action could be the start of "mass deportations" in the Trump era.

Rep. Linda Sanchez said lawmakers were told by Homan that they "can and should expect many more arrests and removals this year."