Judge reinstates unannounced congressional visits to ICE facilities

Judge reinstates unannounced congressional visits to ICE facilities

Briefly

"A federal judge has once again reined in the Trump administration by ordering, for the second time, that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allow members of Congress to conduct unannounced visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. The decision, issued Monday by District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb, temporarily blocks the requirement to give seven days' notice to inspect these facilities and reinforces the legislature's right to oversee the conditions in which thousands of people are held in federal custody."

"The ruling responds to a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen Democratic members of Congress, including representatives from Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, New York, and California, who reported being expelled or directly prevented from entering detention centers after attempting to make unannounced visits. The case has become one of the main legal fronts against the government's immigration offensive at a time marked by increased detentions, citizen protests, and allegations of abuse in federal facilities."

"One of the episodes that triggered the lawsuit occurred on January 10 at the Bishop Henry Whipple federal building, outside Minneapolis, Minnesota. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison managed to briefly enter the premises but were forced to leave shortly thereafter. The building, originally designed for short-term detentions related to immigration hearings, has become a hub for ICE operations in the state. People detained there described overcrowded cells, a lack of adequate food, and insufficient medical care."