A federal judge is set to consider an emergency request from lawyers for several Democratic members of Congress after the Trump administration blocked lawmakers from visiting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Minneapolis, according to court papers filed Monday.
The filing came a day after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis, lawyers for the plaintiffs said. The request asked the judge to intervene in light of what the lawyers described as changes to congressional access to immigration detention facilities.
Three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota—Ilhan Omar, Kelly Morrison and Angie Craig—attempted to tour the ICE facility in the Minneapolis federal building on Saturday, the Associated Press reported. They were initially allowed to enter, but were told they had to leave about 10 minutes later.
Officials who turned the lawmakers away cited a newly imposed seven-day notice policy for congressional oversight visits, the filing said. The lawsuit described the policy as a restriction that would prevent members of Congress from conducting oversight when they need information quickly.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the issue has become urgent because members of Congress are negotiating funding for the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for the next fiscal year. DHS’s annual appropriations are due to expire on Jan. 30, the lawyers wrote.
In their request for an emergency hearing, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said the moment required oversight access without delay. They wrote, “This is a critical moment for oversight, and members of Congress must be able to conduct oversight at ICE detention facilities, without notice, to obtain urgent and essential information for ongoing funding negotiations,” according to the court filing.
The request was directed to U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C. Cobb scheduled a hearing for Wednesday after the Monday request, the report said.
Cobb previously issued a ruling on Dec. 17, temporarily blocking ICE from enforcing policies limiting Congress members’ access to immigration detention facilities. In that decision, the judge said it was likely illegal for ICE to demand a week’s notice from members of Congress seeking to visit and observe conditions, finding the requirement likely exceeded DHS’s statutory authority.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers said that after Good’s death, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem secretly signed a memorandum reinstating the seven-day notice requirement, the report said. The government attorneys did not immediately respond in writing to the plaintiffs’ hearing request, according to the Associated Press.
In the Dec. 17 ruling, Cobb also rejected the government’s arguments, including that legislators’ concerns about changing conditions were speculative. Cobb wrote, “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.”
The filing also referenced a law that bars DHS from using appropriated general funds to prevent members of Congress from entering DHS facilities for oversight purposes. Plaintiffs’ attorneys said the administration has not shown that none of those funds are being used to implement the latest notice policy.