Federal Judge Deals Major Blow to Kristi Noem on Oversight of ICE
A federal judge has revoked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s ability to restrict members of Congress from entering ICE facilities.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Noem’s requirement that members of Congress give her a week’s notice before entering an immigration facility is illegal, given that it relies on funding Congress warned could not be used to block oversight from lawmakers.
“The Parties’ arguments on this point raise complex questions regarding the technical details of DHS budgeting and the application of appropriations law that the Court finds difficult to resolve on this preliminary factual record,” Good wrote. “Luckily, the Court does not need to fully address those disputes to resolve the present motion, because Defendants’ proposed solution suffers from a fatal flaw: It assumes that [One Big Beautiful Bill Act] funds are available for all of the costs necessary to promulgate and enforce the policy.”
While DHS appealed immediately, others hailed the ruling as a tribute to common sense.
“Despite the Trump administration’s unlawful attempts to block Members of Congress from conducting oversight, a federal court just affirmed in Neguse et al. v. ICE et al.—ONCE AGAIN—our clear right to conduct unannounced oversight visits,” Democratic Representative Joe Neguse wrote on X. “We will keep fighting to ensure the rule of law prevails.”
Multiple Democratic politicians have been denied entry, roughed up, or outright arrested trying to enter ICE facilities since President Trump returned to office last year.
Last May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Representative LaMoica McIver were arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while trying to gain entry to Delaney Hall. Last June, Senator Alex Padilla was literally dragged out of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s press conference in Los Angeles while trying to ask a question. That same month, New York City comptroller and then–mayoral candidate Brad Lander was taken from the hallways of a Lower Manhattan immigration court and detained by masked ICE agents.