A federal judge on Monday refused to block the Trump administration from enforcing a new policy requiring a week’s notice before members of Congress can visit immigration detention facilities.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., ruled that the Department of Homeland Security did not violate her prior order when it reimposed the notice requirement. She concluded that the Jan. 8 policy is a “new agency action” distinct from a previous directive she had blocked. The judge stated she was not ruling on the new policy’s legality, but rather that plaintiffs’ attorneys representing Democratic lawmakers used the wrong “procedural vehicle” to challenge it.
The ruling follows a recent incident where three Democratic members of Congress were blocked from visiting an ICE facility near Minneapolis shortly after a U.S. citizen was killed by an officer there. Plaintiffs’ lawyers argued that the notice period obstructs oversight during critical funding negotiations, while government attorneys argued the challenge was premature.
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