A federal judge has temporarily suspended the latest Trump administration policy requiring members of Congress to give seven days’ notice before inspecting immigration detention facilities.
The March 2 order by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., covers all members of Congress, while a similar order she issued last month applied only to the 13 members who sued the Department of Homeland Security over the practice.
The last two orders followed a December ruling in which Cobb ruled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s policy likely violated a federal spending measure that gives U.S. senators and representatives the right to make unannounced visits to detention facilities.
Kristi Noem
But Noem turned right around and secretly reinstated the policy requiring a week’s notice, arguing she could do so because the centers were being operated instead with money from President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Her Jan. 8 memorandum surfaced when legislators were blocked from inspecting a detention site in Minneapolis.
U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado said he and his fellow plaintiffs in Joe Neguse v. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement will not be deterred from exercising oversight of DHS detention operations.
“Once again, a federal court has ruled to restore members of Congress’ ability to conduct essential oversight on behalf of the American people — despite repeated attempts by Secretary Noem to subvert the law,” he said. “This is yet another victory against an administration whose cruel and inhumane immigration policies have inflicted a heavy toll on communities across the nation.”
The other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are U.S. Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Bennie G. Thompson, Jamie Raskin, Robert Garcia, J. Luis Correa, Jason Crow, Veronica Escobar, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Raul Ruiz, Norma Torres and Kelly Morrison. They are represented by Democracy Forward and American Oversight.
Chioma Chukwu
“Congress’ authority to conduct oversight of immigration detention facilities isn’t optional — it’s the law,” said Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight.
“As more reports of abuse and deaths in ICE custody surface, oversight becomes a moral imperative — essential to protecting both human life and preserving constitutional order. The court’s decision also makes clear that the administration cannot evade accountability by repackaging the same misconduct and calling it by a different name.”
Democracy Forward President Skye Perryman said the congressional notification policy is an attempt to keep the ugly truth about ongoing immigration actions behind closed doors: “The Trump-Vance administration’s effort to hide detention conditions and block congressional oversight is not just an optics strategy, it is an attempt to evade accountability for policies that are cruel, unlawful, and deeply unconstitutional. Today’s ruling makes it clear that Secretary Noem cannot operate detention facilities in the shadows or silence elected officials who are doing their jobs.”
Cobb’s order concluded it is likely the plaintiffs will succeed in proving they have suffered irreparable harm in being denied the opportunity to conduct oversight of facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“During this time period, ICE has also been taking actions that affect members’ ability to speak with detainees once the member is inside a facility,” Cobb’s order added. She cited an ICE email that said members of Congress were barred from having “any physical or verbal contact with any person in ICE detention facilities unless previously requested and specifically approved by ICE headquarters.”
The plaintiffs also are likely to succeed in disproving that detention facilities are being operated exclusively with funds from the Big Beautiful Bill Act, the judge ruled.