Members of Congress Sue Over Block of Oversight of Federal Immigration Detention Facilities

The administration has implemented a new, unlawful policy that blocks Members of Congress from obtaining the information necessary to perform their constitutional duty to ensure the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is complying with federal law in operating Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities and to oversee how billions in taxpayer dollars are being spent.

The administration is mandating a seven-day waiting period and prohibiting members of Congress from accessing field offices where people are being detained, despite a federal law that prevents these restrictions.

The administration is detaining more individuals than ever before—over 58,000 people—and reports of mistreatment, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and the detention of U.S. citizens are growing.

Eleven people have died in immigration custody in the first six months of this administration. DHS’s recent mass layoffs of internal oversight personnel only deepen the concerns about this conduct and possible abuse.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia preliminarily enjoined DHS’s policy, affirming members’ rights to conduct unannounced visits. However, after an ICE officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen in January 2026, Secretary Kristi Noem quietly signed a new memorandum reinstating the same seven-day notice requirement. The existence of the memo, which had not been shared with plaintiffs or the court, only came to light after three members of the Minnesota congressional delegation were subsequently denied access to an immigration facility in Minnesota, despite having the court order in hand.

The Members of Congress returned to federal court to ask the judge to order the administration to explain how this new policy does not violate federal law that guarantees Members of Congress the ability to conduct oversight of immigration facilities. The court’s December order affirmed all members’ rights under federal law to conduct this oversight. The District Court denied this motion on procedural grounds.

In January 2026, the Members of Congress filed an emergency motion seeking to restore their right and duty to conduct unannounced visits to immigration facilities. The filing adds Representative Kelly Morrison as a plaintiff in the case, after she and other Members of Congress from Minnesota were briefly permitted into the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minnesota but were blocked from accessing detention areas or speaking with detainees. ICE officials ultimately denied the oversight visit altogether.

In her declaration attached to the emergency motion, Representative Morrison details alarming reports of overcrowding, shackling, denial of medical care, and other inhumane conditions at the Whipple facility, including detainees being held for days without adequate food, hygiene, or access to counsel, conditions she was prevented from investigating firsthand.

On February 2, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted emergency relief to 13 members of Congress, ordering DHS and ICE to restore plaintiffs’ unannounced congressional oversight of detention facilities. The court’s ruling restores the plaintiff members’ ability to enter detention facilities in real time, speak with detainees, and investigate conditions, including overcrowding, shackling, denial of medical care, and lack of access to counsel.

On March 2, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted our motion for preliminary injunction staying the implementation and enforcement of Secretary Kristi Noem’s reinstatement of the seven-day notice requirement for congressional oversight visits to ICE facilities.

The Trump-Vance administration appealed the district court’s preliminary injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and sought an emergency stay that would have allowed the administration to continue restricting congressional oversight visits while the appeal proceeded.

On May 8 2026, the D.C. Circuit unanimously denied the administration’s request for a stay pending appeal, leaving in place the district court’s order restoring Members of Congress’ ability to conduct unannounced oversight visits to immigration detention facilities. Judge Rao issued a concurring statement explaining that DHS had failed to demonstrate irreparable harm.

Plaintiffs include Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse; Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat; Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bennie G. Thompson; Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin; House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia; House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Ranking Member Rep. J. Luis Correa; and Reps. Jason Crow, Veronica Escobar, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Kelly Morrison, Raul Ruiz, and Norma Torres.