WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration secretly reimposed a policy limiting Congress members’ access to immigration detention facilities a day after a federal immigration officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, attorneys for several congressional Democrats said Monday in asking a federal judge to intervene.
Three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota were blocked from visiting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Minneapolis on Saturday, three days after an ICE officer shot and killed U.S. citizen Renee Good in the city.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., temporarily blocked ICE from enforcing policies limiting Congress members’ access to immigration detention facilities. In a court filing on Monday, plaintiffs’ lawyers asked Cobb to hold an emergency hearing and decide if the duplicate notice policy violates her order.
The attorneys requesting the hearing say the matter is urgent as Congress members are negotiating funding for DHS and ICE for the next fiscal year with appropriations due to expire on Jan. 30. They argue that oversight is critical during this time and access to these facilities without notice is necessary for obtaining essential information.
Officials turned the Congress members away citing the new seven-day-notice policy for visits, which was reportedly signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem following Good's death. This policy restricts Congress members from conducting unannounced visits to ICE facilities, thereby hindering their ability to perform oversight duties.
Judge Cobb previously ruled that the seven-day notice requirement likely exceeds statutory authority, emphasizing that it's essential for lawmakers to be able to obtain accurate, timely information from the facilities. This ongoing situation raises pressing questions about transparency and accountability in immigration enforcement operations under the Trump administration.
