Judge nixes latest policy requiring 7 days’ notice for Congress members to visit ICE facilities

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge agreed on Monday to temporarily suspend the latest version of a Trump administration policy that requires members of Congress to provide a week’s notice before they can visit immigration detention facilities.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington ruled that a group of Democratic lawmakers is likely to succeed in showing that the seven-day notice requirement is illegal and exceeds the government’s statutory authority.

The judge said the Republican administration hasn’t cited any “concrete examples of safety issues posed by congressional visits without advanced notice.”

Thirteen House members sued to challenge the Jan. 8 policy issued by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Cobb had blocked a previous version of the policy in December. She ruled that it’s likely illegal for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to demand a week’s notice from members of Congress seeking to visit and observe conditions in ICE facilities.

“Plaintiffs are undoubtedly frustrated with Defendants’ repeated attempts to impose a notice requirement,” Cobb wrote. “But in taking further action, Defendants are required to abide by the terms of the Court’s order and act consistently with the legal principles announced in this opinion.”

However, Noem secretly reinstated anoth...