Federal judge again blocks Noem’s restrictions on congressional visits to ICE facilities

A federal judge has again blocked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s restrictions on congressional visits to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.On Monday, U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, ruled that Noem’s order in January requiring Congress members to give a week’s notice before visiting an ICE facility violated a prior appropriations law, which forbids funds from being used to bar impromptu congressional visits, according to The Hill news outlet.
In December, Cobb had struck down a similar policy, resulting in Noem’s order the following month that argued only funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would be used to enforce the policy at ICE facilities.
Congress members had printed out Cobb’s ruling and brought it with them to visit an ICE facility, but were turned away, prompting the latest ruling.
Cobb found in her Monday ruling that the Department of Homeland Security had relied on prior funding in drafting its latest order.
“The Parties’ arguments on this point raise complex questions regarding the technical details of DHS budgeting and the application of appropriations law that the Court finds difficult to resolve on this preliminary factual record. Luckily, the Court does not need to fully address those disputes to resolve the present motion, because Defendants’ proposed solution suffers from a fatal flaw: It assumes that OBBBA funds are available for all of the costs necessary to promulgate and enforce the policy,” Cobb wrote.
However, the law “does not allow Defendants to use OBBBA funds for at least some of the relevant expenditures here,” Cobb added, including for the time spent in crafting the latest policy.
The DHS quickly appealed the ruling.
Rep. Joe Negus, D-Colo., who brought the lawsuit, posted on X on Monday, “Despite the Trump administration’s unlawful attempts to block Members of Congress from conducting oversight, a federal court just affirmed in Neguse et al. v. ICE et al. — ONCE AGAIN — our clear right to conduct unannounced oversight visits. We will keep fighting to ensure the rule of law prevails.”

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