A federal court ruling temporarily blocks the Trump administration from preventing members of Congress from conducting unannounced inspections of immigration detention facilities.
U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb in Washington D.C. ruled Dec. 17 that an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy requiring legislators to request inspection visits at least seven days in advance likely violates federal law.
The decision stems from Joe Neguse v. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, a lawsuit filed in July by 12 Democratic members of the U.S. House who were forced to request inspection visits and in some cases were barred outright from some ICE facilities.
“Every year since 2020, Congress has passed and the president has signed an appropriations bill that prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from using appropriated funds ‘to prevent’ members of Congress ‘from entering, for the purpose of conducting oversight,’ any DHS facility ‘used to detain or otherwise house aliens,’” Cobb noted in the 73-page opinion.
Evidence presented in the case makes clear funds appropriated to DHS are being used to limit or bar members of Congress from inspecting ICE facilities, she added. “Contrary to defendants’ suggestion, then, (the statute) does entitle members of Congress to access ICE facilities without being subject to a notice requirement.”
It wasn’t long into President Donald Trump’s mass detention and deportation campaign that state and federal legislators were denied entry into ICE facilities. In some instances, politicians were briefly detained at some of the centers.
Outside the Immigration Courts in 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan, tensions run high as federal agents await immigrants who exit their court appearances before a judge and are confronted by masked agents. As soon as an agent approaches someone, they fear being detained. On this particular day NY Congressman Dan Goldman (D) was there to observe and talk to the agents in person. (Photo by: Andrea Renault/STAR MAX via AP Images)
But surprise, on-the-ground congressional visits to detention facilities are necessary to “prevent abuses and ensure transparency. Oversight is a core responsibility of members of Congress — and a constitutional duty we do not take lightly,” plaintiffs said in a joint statement. “Today’s decision is a critical victory toward restoring our ability to conduct essential congressional oversight on behalf of the American people. It reinforces the rule of law and reminds the administration that oversight is not optional.”
Plaintiffs include U.S. Reps. Joe Neguse, Adriano Espaillat, Bennie G. Thompson, Jamie Raskin, Robert Garcia, J. Luis Correa, Jason Crow, Veronica Escobar, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Raul Ruiz and Norma Torres.
“For months, masked, unidentified ICE agents have detained law-abiding immigrants in inhumane and unconstitutional conditions, while DHS has repeatedly and unlawfully blocked me and other members of Congress from inspecting these facilities, including in my district in New York City,” said Goldman, a New York Congressman repeatedly denied entry into ICE facilities. “The fight to hold this administration accountable for its lawless immigration dragnet continues, but this is a step in the right direction.”
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are represented by Democracy Forward and American Oversight.