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The Department of Homeland Security has again imposed a requirement that members of Congress provide advance notice before inspecting immigration detention facilities, issuing a new policy designed to sidestep a federal court order that blocked similar restrictions last month.
The policy, dated Jan. 8 and submitted Saturday in federal court, requires lawmakers to schedule visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities at least seven days in advance. Any exemptions must be personally approved by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who signed the memo.
The move comes after a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in December that DHS could not require advance notice for congressional oversight visits, citing federal law that explicitly bars the department from restricting or conditioning such inspections.
Lawmakers denied access amid heightened tensions
The renewed policy surfaced amid a confrontation over access at an ICE facility in Minneapolis. Democratic Minnesota Reps. Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig and Kelly Morrison said over the weekend that they were denied entry while attempting to inspect the facility.
Tensions have escalated in Minneapolis following the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE officer on Wednesday. Trump administration officials have said the officer acted in self-defense, a claim that local leaders have publicly disputed.
The lawmakers said they were seeking to conduct oversight in the aftermath of the shooting.
Court previously blocked identical policy
The policy mirrors a DHS rule first issued in June and blocked in December by a federal judge. That earlier directive required lawmakers to submit requests at least seven days in advance before visiting ICE detention centers housing immigrants facing deportation.
Before the June policy, ICE had long allowed members of Congress to visit detention facilities without prior notice, a practice lawmakers say is essential for effective oversight.
In blocking the rule, the court pointed to appropriations language that prohibits DHS from using federal funds to prevent members of Congress from conducting oversight visits or from requiring them to “provide prior notice of the intent to enter” ICE detention facilities.
DHS cites alternative funding source
In her new memo, Noem argued the department can lawfully impose the notice requirement by relying on a different source of funding.
She directed DHS to implement the policy “exclusively with money appropriated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” rather than through regular annual appropriations governed by the oversight protections cited by the court.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law last summer, dramatically expanded immigration enforcement funding, providing roughly $75 billion for ICE to increase deportation operations and expand detention capacity.
Administration defends policy
Noem said the advance notice rule is necessary to protect the safety of lawmakers, their staff, detainees and ICE personnel.
“Unannounced visits require pulling ICE officers away from their normal duties,” Noem wrote. “Moreover, there is an increasing trend of replacing legitimate oversight activities with circus-like publicity stunts, all of which creates a chaotic environment with heightened emotions.”
Democratic lawmakers and immigration advocates argue the policy is an unlawful attempt to shield detention facilities from scrutiny and to undermine Congress’s oversight authority.
The court has not yet ruled on the legality of the revised policy.
