Neguse says members of Congress are being denied access to immigration detention centers despite judge’s order

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse fields questions from Summit County constituents during a town hall in Frisco on April 24, 2024. Neguse, whose district includes central and northern Colorado mountain communities, said he opposes passing a Republican-led government funding proposal because it does not include an extension of health care subsidies.
Robert Tann/The Aspen Times

U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colorado) says members of Congress are again being denied access to conduct oversight of immigration detention facilities.

A federal judge last month sided with Democratic U.S. House lawmakers, including Neguse, who sued over a policy by President Donald Trump’s administration that limited congressional members’ access to federal immigration detention centers.

The judge temporarily blocked the policy, which required members of Congress to give seven days’ notice before visiting immigration detention centers, ruling it likely violated federal law. On Jan. 8, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a new, nearly identical policy reinstating the seven-day notice requirement for members of Congress to visit an immigration detention center.

A dozen House Democrats, led by Neguse, are continuing to argue in federal court that the new policy violates federal law. Neguse and his colleagues originally filed a lawsuit in July against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arguing that they have a constitutional duty to conduct oversight on how funds appropriated by Congress are spent.

“In December, a federal court acted to restore members of Congress’s ability to conduct essential congressional oversight on behalf of the American people,” Neguse and his colleagues said in a statement. “Now, rather than comply with the law, the Department of Homeland Security is attempting to get around this order by re-imposing the same unlawful policy.”

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The new policy came days after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis. Media reports have identified the woman as Renée Good, a U.S. citizen and 37-year-old mother of three who was born in Colorado.

Despite the federal judge’s order temporarily blocking the earlier policy, Neguse and his colleagues said they were only notified of the new policy after three members of Congress from Minnesota attempted to conduct oversight of an immigration detention facility near Minneapolis.

“This is unacceptable. Oversight is a core responsibility of members of Congress, and a constitutional duty we do not take lightly,” Neguse and his colleagues said. “It is not something the executive branch can turn on or off at will.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately return a request for comment on Monday.