Judge allows Trump administration to block lawmakers’ access to ICE facilities

A federal judge has temporarily allowed the Trump administration to require lawmakers to provide a week's notice before inspecting immigration detention facilities. This ruling comes after Minnesota representatives were allegedly blocked from inspecting an ICE detention center. The judge stated that because the policy is now funded from a different source, it differs from a previously blocked policy. Separately, the Justice Department is urging a Minneapolis court to allow the administration's immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota to continue, despite a state lawsuit. The Justice Department is also appealing an injunction curbing aggressive ICE tactics against protesters.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C. has denied a request to block a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy requiring a seven-day notice for congressional visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities. Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the DHS did not violate a previous court order with the new policy, implemented January 8, 2026. The ruling came after three Democratic members of Congress from Minnesota were blocked from visiting an ICE facility near Minneapolis. The representatives were turned away three days after an ICE officer fatally shot a U.S. citizen. While Cobb acknowledged similarities between the new policy and a previously blocked one, she stated the challenge was brought using the wrong legal procedure and did not rule on the policy's legality.