A Michigan congresswoman is saying on social media she was denied access to the Calhoun County jail to meet with ICE detainees.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, said on Twitter Tuesday that she made a surprise visit to the jail and was denied access to tour the facility.

As a member of Congress, Talib should have access because the jail contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold detainees, according to Denzel McCampbell, a spokesman for Tlaib.

But Calhoun County Sheriff Matt Saxton said Wednesday as a county jail contracting with ICE, "if they want a tour of a contracted facility they have to set it up 48 hours in advance. My lieutenant followed procedures, and we just don't let a group walk into our facility. If she had called me and said, 'I would like a tour of your facility,' I would have set it up."

McCampbell said Tlaib came to the area for visitors about 1:30 p.m. with two members of her staff and two immigration attorneys, although the sheriff said he believes there were eight or nine people in the group.

Tlaib wanted to check on complaints from people in the jail, McCampbell said, and was only able to speak with four immigrant detainees through a glass window and using phones.

In her tweet, Tlaib said one of the detainees suffers from PTSD and requires medication but has not received it in 10 days. She tweeted that another woman has had to sleep on the floor for three days.

Saxton said he has not had any complaints from detainees and did not receive any complaints from Tlaib after her visit.

"I have had no communication with her," he said. "With a little communication, we could have made sure that security issues were managed and given her a tour. It's a jail and we have security measures."

Saxton said one of the attorneys met with a client and staff brought other detainees to talk with Tlaib in the visitors section.

About 191 ICE detainees are housed at the jail, which has beds for 600 inmates. About 310 beds are for local inmates and the rest for other inmates from other contracts including with Dearborn and Livonia, Saxton said. ICE conducts frequent inspections including one just over a week ago.

He said no one sleeps on the floor unless they choose to do so. He said that some temporary beds in the facility consist of mattresses fitted with sheets and blankets which are on top of plastic that covers the floor and that those beds are approved by ICE.

He said he doesn't know about the specific complaint of an inmate not receiving medication, but the jail has 24-hour nursing care and he has not heard about any similar complaints.

Saxton said a congresswoman from Ohio toured the facility a year or so ago after making an appointment and said he will give Tlaib a tour if she would like one, but he has not heard anything from her or her office.

"If I wanted to meet with her, I would have to make an appointment," Saxton said.

McCampbell said the visit was the first by Tlaib to a Michigan facility holding ICE prisoners, although she has visited a facility in El Paso, Texas. The congresswoman does plan to return to tour the local facility, he said.

Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson