Federal Judge Upholds ICE's Seven-Day Notice Policy for Congressional Visits

Tue Jan 20 2026 05:10:16 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a recent ruling, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb denied a request to block the Trump administration's new policy requiring members of Congress to provide a week's notice before visiting immigration detention facilities, stating that procedural grounds for the challenge were incorrect.

A federal judge has upheld a Trump administration policy that mandates a seven-day notice for members of Congress wishing to visit ICE facilities. Judge Jia Cobb concluded that the Department of Homeland Security did not violate a previous order regarding oversight visits. This ruling comes after Democratic representatives were barred from visiting an ICE center following a high-profile incident involving the shooting of a U.S. citizen. Advocacy groups have vowed to continue fighting against the policy, asserting it obstructs necessary congressional oversight.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge refused Monday to temporarily block the Trump administration from enforcing a new policy requiring a week’s notice before members of Congress can visit immigration detention facilities.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., concluded that the Department of Homeland Security didn’t violate an earlier court order when it reimposed a seven-day notice requirement for congressional oversight visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities.

Cobb stressed that she wasn’t ruling on whether the new policy passes legal muster. Rather, she stated that plaintiffs’ attorneys representing several Democratic members of Congress used the wrong “procedural vehicle” to challenge it. Judge Cobb also noted that the January 8 policy is a new agency action that isn’t subject to her prior order in the plaintiffs’ favor.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers had requested Cobb's intervention after three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota were impeded from visiting an ICE facility near Minneapolis earlier this month — just three days after an ICE officer shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good in Minneapolis.

Previously, Cobb temporarily blocked an administration oversight visit policy, indicating on Dec. 17 that it is likely illegal for ICE to demand a week’s notice from members of Congress seeking to observe conditions in ICE facilities.

A day after Good’s death, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem secretly signed a new memorandum reinstating another seven-day notice requirement. Plaintiffs’ attorneys from the Democracy Forward legal advocacy group claimed DHS did not disclose the latest policy until after U.S. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison, and Angie Craig were turned away from an ICE facility.

On Monday, Cobb ruled that the new policy is similar but distinct from the one announced in June 2025. “The Court emphasizes that it denies Plaintiffs’ motion solely on procedural grounds, not based on any determination of the policy's legality,” she wrote.

Democracy Forward spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz expressed their intent to continue the fight against the administration’s attempts to obscure congressional oversight.

Twelve other Democratic members of Congress are also suing in Washington to challenge ICE’s amended visitor policies, accusing the Trump administration of obstructing congressional oversight during a nationwide surge in immigration enforcement operations. A law prohibits DHS from using appropriated general funds to block members of Congress from entering DHS facilities for oversight purposes.

Justice Department attorney Amber Richer argued that the January 8 policy signed by Noem is distinct from those previously suspended and called this a challenge to a new policy. Plaintiffs' attorneys noted that it is imperative for members of Congress to access facilities without prior notice to gather urgent information for ongoing funding negotiations with DHS.

Judge Cobb remarked, “The changing conditions within ICE facilities mean that it is likely impossible for a Member of Congress to reconstruct the conditions at a facility on the day that they initially sought to enter.”