Rep. Ilhan Omar, D‑Minn., and Rep. Angie Craig, D‑Minn., exited the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building with Rep. Kelly Morrison and other state lawmakers after meeting with immigration officials in Minneapolis on Jan. 10, 2026. Octavio JONES / AFP via Getty Images
Judge upholds DHS policy requiring notice for lawmaker visits to immigration facilities
The ruling leaves in place a rule that mandates advance notice for congressional visits, with the judge citing procedural issues rather than the policy’s substance.
A Department of Homeland Security policy that barred unannounced visits for lawmakers seeking to conduct oversight at facilities that hold immigrants will remain in place, as ordered by a federal judge Monday.
District of Columbia federal Judge Jia Cobb issued an order denying a request from a dozen Democratic lawmakers on the technical grounds that an amended complaint or a supplemental brief must be made to challenge a seven-day notice policy instituted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this month for oversight visits.
“The court emphasizes that it denies plaintiffs’ motion only because it is not the proper avenue to challenge defendants’ January 8, 2026, memorandum and the policy stated therein, rather than based on any kind of finding that the policy is lawful,” according to Cobb’s order.
Earlier this month, Democrats brought an emergency request to Cobb after a handful of Minnesota lawmakers were denied an unannounced oversight visit to a federal facility that holds immigrants following the deadly shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by a federal immigration officer.
Under a 2019 appropriations law, any member of Congress can carry out an unannounced visit at a federal facility that holds immigrants, but in June, multiple Democrats were denied visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.
Those 12 Democrats sued over the policy that required a week’s notice, and in December, Cobb granted the request to stay Noem’s policy, finding it violated the 2019 law.
Noem has now argued that the January incident does not violate Cobb’s stay from December because the ICE facilities are using funds through the Republican spending and tax cuts law, known as the “One, Big Beautiful Bill,” and not the DHS appropriations bill. Noem argued that those facilities are therefore exempt from unannounced oversight visits by members of Congress.
Lawmakers who sued include Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo.; Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.; Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md.; Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif.; Rep. J. Luis Correa, D-Calif.; Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Tex.; Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.; Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif.; Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif.; Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.; and Rep. Norma Torres, D-Calif.