By Daniel Wiessner
Feb 2 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday blocked a renewed attempt by President Donald Trump's administration to bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to immigrant detention facilities.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could not revive the policy, which the judge had blocked in December, by claiming it is using a different source of funding to implement it. The ruling came in a lawsuit by 13 Democratic
members of Congress.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a Jan. 8 memo mandated that members of Congress request access to detention centers at least seven days in advance, citing "significant and sometimes violent incidents."
Cobb last month had blocked an identical policy adopted in June from being implemented using resources funded by the department's general annual budget, such as staff and equipment. She said that under federal law, members of Congress have broad authority to conduct oversight at detention centers.
Noem in the memo said the agency would instead use part of the $29 billion earmarked for immigration enforcement efforts in 2025 legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. Cobb in December said that funding was not subject to the same legal limitations as money that comes from the general budget.
But on Monday, the judge said the Trump administration had not shown that the policy could be implemented and enforced using only the earmarked funds.
"At least some of these resources that either have been or will be used to promulgate and enforce the notice policy have already been funded and paid for with restricted annual appropriations funds," Cobb wrote.
Cobb, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden, blocked the policy pending further litigation.
Trump, a Republican, has made a crackdown on legal and illegal immigration a centerpiece of his second term. That has included a mass deportation campaign and the detention of thousands of people awaiting legal proceedings.
The Democrats who filed the lawsuit say their unannounced visits, without interference from DHS, remain necessary because detention facilities have often failed to afford basic standards of care. The lawmakers come from California, Colorado, Maryland, Mississippi, New York and Texas.
They said denying such visits amid continued reports of maltreatment, overcrowding and poor sanitation, violates a federal law adopted in 2020 during Trump's first White House term.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
