Minneapolis, Minnesota – Three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota have requested an emergency court hearing after they were blocked from entering a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility near Minneapolis, raising new concerns about transparency and congressional oversight.
Representatives Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison were denied access on Saturday when they attempted to conduct an oversight visit at the ICE facility located in the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building. Their visit came just days after an ICE officer fatally shot a U.S. citizen, Renee Good, in Minneapolis, a case that has intensified public scrutiny of federal immigration enforcement operations in the state.
According to attorneys representing the lawmakers, the Trump administration quietly reinstated a policy requiring members of Congress to give ICE seven days’ notice before visiting detention facilities. This policy was reintroduced last Thursday, one day after the fatal shooting, through a memorandum signed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem.
The move appears to directly contradict a recent federal court ruling. In December, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb temporarily blocked ICE from enforcing similar restrictions, ruling that the seven-day notice requirement likely exceeds DHS’s legal authority. Judge Cobb said such policies interfere with Congress’s constitutional role in overseeing federal agencies.
In a court filing on Monday, lawyers asked Judge Cobb to hold an emergency hearing and determine whether the newly imposed notice requirement violates her earlier order. They described the situation as urgent because Congress is currently negotiating funding for DHS and ICE, with the federal budget deadline approaching on January 30.
This is a critical moment for oversight,” the attorneys wrote. “Members of Congress must be able to inspect ICE facilities without prior notice in order to obtain accurate and timely information.”
On Saturday, the three Minnesota lawmakers were initially allowed into the building but were asked to leave approximately 10 minutes later. Officials cited the newly reinstated seven-day notice policy as the reason for denying their visit.
Judge Cobb previously rejected government arguments that members of Congress must give advance notice or that oversight could be delayed without harm. In her December ruling, she stated that conditions inside detention facilities can change rapidly, making it impossible for lawmakers to accurately assess conditions if they are forced to wait days before entering.
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 they sought entry,” Cobb wrote.
The legal dispute comes amid heightened tensions following the Minneapolis shooting. The investigation has been complicated by disagreements between federal and state officials, with the FBI taking control of the case despite objections from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
The earlier lawsuit that led to Judge Cobb’s ruling was brought by 12 members of Congress who argued that the Trump administration was unlawfully blocking congressional oversight of immigration detention centers during its expansion of immigration enforcement operations. The court found their claims credible and allowed the case to move forward.
Federal law explicitly bars DHS from using public funds to prevent members of Congress from entering its facilities for oversight purposes. Attorneys from the Democracy Forward Foundation argue that the administration has not demonstrated that taxpayer funds are not being used to enforce the reinstated notice policy.
As of Monday, Judge Cobb had not yet ruled on the emergency hearing request, and government lawyers had not filed a written response.
The case is expected to have major implications for congressional oversight, transparency in immigration enforcement, and the balance of power between the executive branch and lawmakers, particularly during a period of heightened national debate over immigration policy and civil rights.
