A federal court blocked the Trump administration on Monday from attempting to revive a requirement that members of Congress provide the federal government with seven days’ notice before they can visit an immigration detention facility.
A federal court struck down a similar policy late last year after finding that Section 527 of the Department of Homeland Security’s funding bill held that the agency could not place restrictions on congressional oversight visits to immigration detention facilities. In a ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, found that a Jan. 8 memo from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, which attempted to reinstate the policy by saying it would be enforced instead with funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, still violated Section 527.
“The Court has already found that DHS’s promulgation, implementation, and enforcement of a nearly identical requirement qualified as Defendants ‘us[ing]’ funds ‘to prevent’ Members of Congress from entering facilities as is prohibited by Section 527,” the ruling said.
“Because the evidence before the Court demonstrated that the only funds used to promulgate, implement, and enforce the prior notice requirement were DHS’s annually appropriated funds, the Court found that Defendants’ adoption and enforcement of the policy was likely contrary to Section 527,” the ruling continued.
The ruling marks another loss for the Trump administration’s bid to halt efforts by Democratic members of Congress to visit Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities unannounced and without any restrictions. Democrats have been vocal opponents of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and his mass efforts to detain and deport illegal immigrants.
Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), who serves as assistant Democratic leader in the House and spearheaded the lawsuit, called the ruling a “victory for the American people,” and said in a statement that “we will keep fighting to ensure the rule of law prevails.”
Cobb’s ruling came weeks after she declined to halt the policy, arguing that DHS had not violated a previous court order by creating it. But her ruling on Monday found that the new policy still violated Section 527 of DHS’s appropriations.
In the memo announcing the policy last month, Noem said the reason for requiring lawmakers to provide advance notice of their visits was because of the “significant and sometimes violent incidents at ICE facilities” over the past year.
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“The basis for this policy is that advance notice is necessary to ensure adequate protection for Members of Congress, congressional staff, detainees, and ICE employees alike,” Noem said in the memo. “Unannounced visits require pulling ICE officers away from their normal duties. Moreover, there is an increasing trend of replacing legitimate oversight activities with circus-like publicity stunts, all of which creates a chaotic environment with heightened emotions.”
During an unannounced visit by congressional Democrats to an ICE facility in New Jersey in May 2025, a physical altercation broke out, leading to Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) being charged with assaulting law enforcement. McIver has pleaded not guilty to the charges.