SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration's policy requiring congressional members to give seven days advance notice before visiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, ruling the restrictions interfere with Congress's oversight responsibilities.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed earlier this year by a Colorado congressmember. It comes after San Diego's Democratic congressional delegation was twice denied access to an ICE holding facility inside the federal building downtown over the past two months.
In late November, the delegation finally gained access to the facility after being turned away on previous attempts. The congress members were told they needed to provide seven days advance notice under a Department of Homeland Security policy announced in June.
"We will never know whether they cleaned it up for us because we had to give them all sorts of notice," Rep. Scott Peters said during their eventual visit.
Rep. Juan Vargas expressed frustration with the changing requirements during their second denied attempt.
"They told us the 48-hour rule. We followed that. The seven-day rule, we followed that. And yet, once again, they say no," Vargas said.
The federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled the advance notice requirements were "contrary to law" and described the restrictions as causing "tangible harm" that interferes with Congress's oversight role. The ruling temporarily blocks the policy while the case proceeds.
San Diego's four Democratic congress members were unavailable for interviews Monday, but Peters issued a statement reacting to the ruling.
“The ruling confirms what we’ve long believed, that members of Congress are entitled to visit federal facilities without notice. It’s part of our oversight responsibilities. Nevertheless, we tried our best this fall to cooperate with the administration but even after we gave them plenty of notice we were twice denied entry. Fortunately, that won’t happen again," said Peters.
Congressman Levin also issued a statement Monday saying: “Earlier this year, following reports that ICE was violating its own detainment standards, my colleagues and I attempted to conduct oversight at the ICE facility inside the Edward J. Schwartz United States Courthouse in San Diego, only to be blocked by ICE.
Congress must be able to exercise its oversight authority at ICE facilities, just like any other federal agency. The American people deserve to know how detainees are being treated and how their tax dollars are being spent.
Blocking these visits has nothing to do with security and everything to do with hiding the truth and avoiding accountability.
This court ruling is a step in the right direction. Oversight isn’t optional, and NO agency gets to operate in the shadows.”
ICE did not respond to requests for comment but has previously defended the policy as necessary to maintain operational security and safety at facilities. In a past statement, ICE called the oversight visits a "publicity stunt."
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the judge's ruling.
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