From The Hill: A federal judge again struck down a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy seeking to block lawmakers from making unannounced visits to immigration detention facilities.
U.S. District Court Judge Jia Cobb on Monday found the latest iteration of an order from Secretary Kristi Noem requiring lawmakers to give seven days notice before visiting a facility also ran afoul of a prior appropriations law, which forbids funds from being used to bar impromptu congressional visits.
Cobb in December had struck down a similar policy, prompting Noem to issue a new order in January, claiming that only funds from President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) would be used to enforce the policy at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities.
Lawmakers had printed out Cobb’s ruling, bringing it in hand to visit an ICE facility, only to be turned away, prompting the latest chapter in the challenge.
DHS immediately appealed the ruling.
Rep. Joe Neguse cheered the ruling, declaring, “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. We will keep fighting to ensure the rule of law prevails.”
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.
We will keep fighting to ensure the… pic.twitter.com/5sGlZIL2h3
— Rep. Joe Neguse (@RepJoeNeguse) March 2, 2026
ABOUT THIS JUDGE: Jia Cobb, 45, is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She was nominated by Joe Biden in June 2021 and confirmed by the Senate in October 2021, in a 52-45 vote.
She has already made a number of rulings against the Trump administration, including trying to stop the National Guard deployment to Washington, D.C.
BREAKING: Jia Michelle Cobb, a Biden-appointed judge, has just issued an order HALTING Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in D.C. pic.twitter.com/NDzFzgrlrD
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 20, 2025
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