WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in the nation’s capital has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a policy that limits members of Congress’ access to immigration detention facilities.
A judge ruled Wednesday that it may be illegal for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to require a week’s notice from members of Congress seeking to visit and observe conditions at ICE facilities.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, concluded that the seven-day notice requirement may exceed the Department of Homeland Security’s statutory authority.
“Plaintiffs are interested in facts about whether the facility was overcrowded or unsanitary, whether staff engaged in abusive behavior, and the location of voters or their families,” the judge wrote.
Twelve Democratic members of Congress filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., in July challenging ICE’s revised visitor policy after they were denied access to detention facilities. They also challenged a policy that excludes ICE field offices from facilities that members of Congress are authorized to visit without prior notice. Their lawsuit accuses Republican President Donald Trump’s administration of obstructing congressional oversight of the centers amid a nationwide surge in immigration enforcement actions.
Government lawyers argued that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing to bring the claim. They also said lawmakers’ concerns that conditions at ICE facilities could change over the course of a week are speculative. The judge rejected those arguments.
“Changing conditions within ICE facilities mean it may be impossible for members of Congress to recreate conditions on the day they initially attempted to enter the facility,” Cobb wrote.