WASHINGTON — A federal judge in the nation's capital has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing policies limiting Congress members' access to immigration detention facilities.
The judge ruled on Wednesday that it is likely illegal for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to demand a week's notice from members of Congress seeking to visit and observe conditions in ICE facilities.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden, concluded that the seven-day notice requirement likely exceeds the Department of Homeland Security's statutory authority.
“Plaintiffs have an interest in facts about whether facilities are overcrowded or unsanitary, whether the staff is engaging in abuse, or the location of constituents or their family members,” the judge wrote.
Twelve Democratic members of Congress sued in Washington, D.C., in July to challenge ICE's amended visitor policies after they were denied entry to detention facilities. They also challenged a policy excluding ICE field offices as facilities that members of Congress are entitled to visit without notice. Their lawsuit accused Republican President Donald Trump's administration of obstructing congressional oversight of the centers during its nationwide surge in immigration enforcement operations.
Government attorneys argued that the plaintiffs don't have legal standing to bring their claims. They also said it's merely speculative for the legislators to be concerned that conditions in ICE facilities change over the course of a week. The judge rejected those arguments.
“The changing conditions within ICE facilities means that it is likely impossible for a Member of Congress to reconstruct the conditions at a facility on the day that they initially sought to enter,” Cobb wrote.
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