A federal judge issued a ruling Monday that could make it tougher for Democratic lawmakers to press the Trump administration over conditions inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities, according to a report.
U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb declined to block a revised Department of Homeland Security policy that restricts when members of Congress can visit ICE facilities, The Denver Post reported. Under the updated rules, lawmakers must provide at least seven days’ notice before an oversight visit. Democrats including Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Joe Neguse (D-CO) have challenged the policy in court.
In her order, Cobb signaled she was not definitively endorsing the legality of the new requirement, but concluded the lawmakers’ current lawsuit was not the correct vehicle to stop it. The Denver Post reported that Cobb noted the revised directive relied on new funding, and said her earlier order blocking ICE’s prior policy “did not purport to address all future DHS policies which may implicate congressional access” to detention centers.
The decision comes as the administration’s immigration enforcement tactics face intensified scrutiny. In recent weeks, multiple shootings involving ICE agents have drawn public attention, including the death of 37-year-old mother Renee Good, who was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while driving away from the scene of an ICE raid in her neighborhood.
Good’s killing sparked protests across the country and renewed calls from Democrats for the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
