WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has secretively reimposed a policy restricting members of Congress from accessing immigration detention facilities, immediately following a troubling incident where an ICE officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis. This decision has led to attorneys representing several Democratic members of Congress calling for a federal judge's intervention.
Specifically, three Democratic representatives from Minnesota were denied entry to an ICE facility near Minneapolis on Saturday, following the shooting of U.S. citizen Renee Good. This blockage occurred shortly after a federal judge ruled against a similar notice requirement for oversight visits by legislators.
In December, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb declared a seven-day notice policy enforced by ICE likely exceeded the Department of Homeland Security's statutory authority. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit from several Congress members who sought to challenge these restrictive visitor policies. On Monday, the plaintiffs' attorneys requested an emergency hearing to determine if the newly reinstated notice policy contravenes Judge Cobb’s ruling.
The urgency of this matter is heightened as Congress is currently engaged in negotiations concerning funding allocations for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, with DHS’s annual appropriations set to expire on January 30. The plaintiffs’ attorneys emphasized that it is crucial for Congress members to have unimpeded oversight access to obtain essential information vital for these negotiations.
"This is a critical moment for oversight, and members of Congress must be able to conduct oversight at ICE detention facilities, without notice, to obtain urgent and essential information for ongoing funding negotiations," they highlighted in their court filing.
Cobb has yet to make a ruling on this latest request for a hearing. Government attorneys involved have not yet responded to the urgent matter. In the incident on Saturday, Representatives Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison, and Angie Craig were initially permitted to enter the facility but were told they had to exit approximately ten minutes later due to the new seven-day notice policy which was secretly signed into effect by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shortly after Good's death.
The plaintiffs argue that the reinstated policy hampers congressional oversight, which is legally supported, as a law prohibits DHS from using appropriated funds to obstruct Congress members from inspecting DHS facilities for oversight purposes. The administration has not provided evidence showing that no funding is being misused in implementation of the latest policy.
As scrutiny over ICE practices intensifies, lawmakers seek to reclaim their oversight functions amid an increasingly restrictive political landscape.
