Democratic U.S. Reps. Kelly Morrison, Ilhan Omar and Angie Craig of Minnesota arrive in front of regional Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on January 10, 2026 in Minneapolis. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON — A Department of Homeland Security policy banning unannounced visits for lawmakers seeking oversight of facilities housing immigrants will remain in place, as ordered by a federal judge on 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 supplemental brief must be filed to challenge a seven-day notice period imposed this month by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem for oversight visits.
“The court emphasizes that it is denying plaintiffs’ motion only because challenging defendants’ January 8, 2026 memorandum and the policy set forth therein is not the proper course of action, and not on the basis of any finding that the policy is lawful.” according to Cobb’s orders.
Earlier this month, Democrats brought an emergency request to Cobb after a handful of Minnesota lawmakers were denied an unannounced inspection visit to a federal facility holding immigrants after a woman was fatally shot by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis.
Under a 2019 budget law, any member of Congress can make an unannounced visit to a federal facility housing immigrants. However, in June, several Democrats were denied visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.
Those 12 Democrats sued over the policy requiring a week’s notice, and in December Cobb granted the motion to keep Noem’s policy in place because it violated the 2019 law.
Noem has now argued that the January incident does not violate Cobb’s December stay because the ICE facilities are using funds from the Republican spending and tax cuts bill, known as the “One, Big Beautiful Bill,” rather than the DHS appropriations bill. Noem argued that these facilities are therefore exempt from unannounced inspection visits by members of Congress.
House Democrats who have sued include Joe Neguse of Colorado, Adriano Espaillat of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Robert Garcia of California, J. Luis Correa of California, Jason Crow of Colorado, Veronica Escobar of Texas, Dan Goldman of New York, Jimmy Gomez of California, Raul Ruiz of California, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Norma Torres of California.
