WASHINGTON – Democratic members of Congress accused the Department of Homeland Security of defying a federal court order Monday after DHS announced a newly revived policy requiring lawmakers to give a week’s notice before conducting oversight visits to ICE facilities, prompting an emergency return to court this week.
Although the policy was circulated internally on Jan. 8, DHS first disclosed it publicly in court filings on Jan. 10 after enforcement of the rule resulted in Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., Kelly Morrison, D-Minn., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., being denied access to a federal detention facility near the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.
Rep. Angie Craig spoke to Medill News Service about her experience that day.
“Ms. Morrison, Omar and I were the first three members whose jobs were impacted. We were not able to perform our duty as members of Congress to inspect that federal facility,” said Craig.
Craig explained that she and the other representatives were told at the ICE facility that, because the money being used to operate the facility is from the One Big Beautiful Bill, not through the appropriations act, the congresswomen were not allowed in.
A federal judge struck down a similar restriction in December in the case Neguse v. ICE, ruling that such a restriction is illegal because federal spending laws require unrestricted congressional oversight.
According to the emergency hearing request that the Democrat plaintiffs from the original case filed Monday, “Defendants did not notify Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs’ counsel, or the Court of DHS’s duplicate notice policy, despite the fact that the policy was immediately effective.”
Judge Jia Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held the emergency hearing Wednesday on a challenge by House Democrats investigating the claim that the new policy does not violate her December ruling.
“I had that December 17 ruling in my hands and asked them to take that and read that to allow us in, and their response was ‘We don’t care’,” said Craig.
Justice Department attorney Amber Richer argued at the hearing that the reinstated restriction does not violate Cobbs’ previous ruling because DHS has the legal right to enforce limitations in facilities funded under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, not congressional funds.
The Congressional appropriations power was extended to allow impromptu investigations at immigration facilities in the 2019 appropriations bill, codifying members’ right to exercise oversight duties through impromptu in-person visits.
That provision was signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term.
The renewed restriction came one day after the ICE shooting of 37-year-old Renée Good in Minneapolis, amid protests and increasing calls from lawmakers for greater oversight of immigration enforcement.
On Wednesday, House Democrats on the Homeland Security Committee held a news conference calling for accountability and justice following the killing of Good.
The representatives present said they were committed to holding Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem accountable.
“Since taking office, Noem has established a corrupt culture at the Department of Homeland Security … she has openly defied court orders, undermining the constitutional rule of law. She has used access to disaster funds to punish political foes, and she has obstructed congressional oversight,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.
Thompson, one of the 12 plaintiffs in the lawsuit against ICE, said when it comes to holding DHS and ICE accountable, “nothing is off the table.”
During a press conference on Tuesday, Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., spoke out against the lawsuit and his fellow Minnesota representatives.
“Look no further than their ridiculous lawsuit yesterday. They’re choosing to protect horrific criminals over law-abiding Minnesotans, and they’re using your taxpayer dollars to do it,” said Emmer. “Thankfully, President Trump is once again stepping up where Tim Walz and Minnesota Democrats have failed, by sending in additional officers and ending temporary protected status for Somalia.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also called out Democrats on Wednesday in a post on X.
“Why are Democrats so committed to letting American[s] suffer while protecting criminal illegal immigrants?” wrote Johnson.
After the Democrats’ news conference Wednesday, Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, told Medill News Service he opposed the reinstatement of the policy.
“I think it’s a terrible policy. I think that the members of Congress should be able to make unannounced visits. I don’t know what DHS plans to do in preparation for our arrival. But we want to see things as they actually are, not as they prepare them for show,” said Green.
In her Jan. 8 memo, Noem claimed the seven-day notice requirement is “necessary to ensure adequate protection for Members of Congress, congressional staff, detainees, and ICE employees alike.”
Rep. Craig disagreed.
“Kristi Noem is going to lose that lawsuit, just like the administration is losing almost every other lawsuit that is being brought by the state of Minnesota,” said Craig.
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