A federal judge in Washington DC has delivered a significant legal victory to the Trump administration, temporarily permitting it to restrict elected officials' access to immigration detention facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ruling comes amid escalating legal and political confrontations over the administration's immigration enforcement tactics across multiple states.
Judicial Ruling on Congressional Oversight
In a four-page decision issued on Monday, District Court Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can continue to enforce a policy requiring lawmakers to provide seven days' notice before conducting inspections of ICE facilities. This ruling represents a reversal from last month, when Judge Cobb blocked an identical policy.
The judge determined that the current policy "facially differs" from the previously blocked regulation because DHS now claims to be enforcing the seven-day requirement using funding from President Trump's "big beautiful bill" rather than existing appropriations. Judge Cobb stated that if plaintiffs wish to challenge this new agency action, they may seek to amend their complaint or file a supplemental pleading, adding that she would consider another temporary restraining order if requested.
Background of the Legal Challenge
The legal challenge originated when three Democratic Minnesota congress members – Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison – alleged that DHS officials illegally blocked them from performing authorized congressional oversight earlier this month. The lawmakers had attempted to inspect an ICE detention center near Minneapolis but were denied access.
Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse and colleagues subsequently filed a lawsuit arguing that the seven-day notice requirement violated Judge Cobb's December ruling that blocked DHS from enforcing such restrictions. Neguse maintained that "the law is crystal-clear: the administration can't block members of Congress from conducting real-time oversight of immigration detention facilities."
Parallel Legal Battles in Minnesota
Separately, Justice Department lawyers urged a district court judge in Minneapolis to allow the administration's immigration enforcement actions in Minnesota to continue, responding to a lawsuit filed by the state seeking to end what it termed a "federal invasion."
At a press conference announcing the legal action, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison stated that cities were being terrorized by federal actions, including the shooting death of Renee Good, an unarmed US citizen, by an ICE agent. Ellison alleged that "DHS's use of excessive and lethal force, their warrantless, racist arrests, their targeting of our courts, our churches, houses of worship and schools are a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act on arbitrary and capricious federal actions."
Justice Department lawyers, however, called the lawsuit "an absurdity" that "would render the supremacy of federal law an afterthought to local preferences." They argued that an injunction blocking ICE operations "would constitute an unprecedented act of judicial overreach."
Judicial Response and Appeal
District Court Judge Katherine Menendez, appointed by President Joe Biden, made no immediate ruling on the Minnesota case but indicated she might hold another hearing before deciding on the lawsuit's merits. Judge Menendez is also the judge who issued an order on Friday curbing aggressive ICE tactics, including "retaliation against protesters" and "the drawing and pointing of weapons; the use of pepper spray and other non-lethal munitions; actual and threatened arrest and detainment of protesters and observers; and other intimidation tactics."
In a related development, DHS informed Judge Menendez on Monday that it had filed an appeal notice with the Eighth District Court of Appeal regarding her Friday injunction. The text of the appeal document was not immediately available.
Administration's Changing Position
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem backtracked on Sunday from her previous insistence that federal agents had not used chemical substances including pepper spray against crowds protesting ICE actions. Instead, she claimed such measures were necessary to "establish law and order."
The legal battles unfold against a backdrop of heightened tensions, with Representative Dan Goldman recently observed walking past federal immigration officers waiting to conduct targeted detainments at an immigration court in New York on 23 October 2025. The scene illustrates the ongoing confrontations between congressional oversight and executive branch enforcement actions in immigration matters.
