Members of Congress Ask for Emergency Court Intervention to Restore Congressional Oversight in ICE Detention Facilities

More than a dozen members of Congress represented by Democracy Forward and American Oversight filed an amended complaint and emergency motion today seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to restore their right and duty to conduct oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities.

The filing comes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unlawfully tried to restrict members of Congress from conducting unannounced oversight visits at ICE detention facilities, directly interfering with Congress’s right and duty to investigate conditions, ensure compliance with the law, and respond to rising reports of abuse and violence inside detention centers.

After the court preliminarily blocked the policy in December, and following the fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by a federal agent in Minnesota, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem secretly reinstated the requirement through a previously undisclosed memorandum. The memo came to light only after multiple members of Congress were denied entry to an ICE facility in Minnesota despite presenting a valid court order. The filing adds Representative Kelly Morrison as a plaintiff in the case, after she was denied access to conduct lawful oversight at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minnesota.

On January 10, 2026, Rep. Morrison and other members of Congress from Minnesota were permitted briefly into the building but were blocked from accessing detention areas or speaking with detainees. ICE officials ultimately denied the oversight visit altogether. In her declaration attached to the emergency motion, Representative Morrison details alarming reports of overcrowding, shackling, denial of medical care, and other inhumane conditions at the Whipple facility, including detainees being held for days without adequate food, hygiene, or access to counsel, conditions she was prevented from investigating firsthand.

“I am horrified by the reports I have heard about the cruel, unsafe, and inhumane conditions inside the Whipple detention center. As a physician, I am especially concerned about the potentially life-threatening inadequate lack of medical equipment and care. Kristi Noem’s ICE agents broke the law when they denied my access to the facility earlier this month – and today, I am joining my colleagues in demanding that our legal right and Constitutional duty to provide transparency, accountability, and oversight on behalf of the American people be restored. An unchecked executive branch is a danger to our democracy,” said Rep. Morrison.

Additional plaintiffs in this case include Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse; Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat; Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Rep. Bennie G. Thompson; Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jamie Raskin; House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia; House Homeland Security Committee Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement Ranking Member Rep. J. Luis Correa; Reps. Jason Crow, Veronica Escobar, Dan Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Raul Ruiz, and Norma Torres.

“The Trump administration is using billions of taxpayer dollars to fund its abhorrent immigration policies and engaging in clear violations of federal law. It is reprehensible,” said Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse. “That is why we are returning to court today and seeking emergency relief in our lawsuit against ICE, to restore congressional oversight at ICE detention facilities.”

“In 250 years of our Republic, congressional oversight has never been more necessary or urgent. We are at a tipping point where the executive is turning on the people. We, the representatives of the people, will meet this moment, and together with the courts, we will defend our Constitution,” said Adriano Espaillat, Chair, Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

“The Trump-Vance administration is trying to keep Americans from seeing what is really happening at these detention facilities to avoid accountability. We cannot avert our eyes, and our clients are entitled to use the levers of oversight that we have to get to the truth,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “People – regardless of citizenship or immigration status – are being swept up in reckless raids, detained in overcrowded facilities, denied medical care and access to counsel, and, in some cases, dying in government custody. We are back in court because the administration continues to deny access to members of Congress from conducting essential oversight at a time when it is most needed.”

“The public has repeatedly witnessed the deadly consequences of ICE’s lawless conduct on American streets and learned of the abhorrent abuses inside its detention facilities,” said American Oversight’s Executive Director Chioma Chukwu. “Enough is enough. Deliberately blocking Congress from exercising its lawful oversight authority to evade accountability is indefensible. Real-time inspections are the only way to shed sunlight on the increasingly dangerous and inhumane conditions in ICE facilities. Congress’s right to conduct them must be restored immediately so lawmakers can do their jobs and prevent the administration from abusing, harming, and killing more people.”

The temporary restraining order (TRO) asks the court to enforce the law and its prior order by stopping DHS and ICE from obstructing oversight and restoring Congress’s ability to inspect detention facilities in real time. Without unannounced access, members cannot verify how taxpayer dollars are being spent, ensure people in government custody are treated humanely, or prevent agencies from concealing unlawful conditions before inspections occur. 

The case is Joe Neguse et al. v. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, et al., and the legal team at Democracy Forward on this case includes Christine Coogle, Lisa Newman, Jodie Morse, Paul Wolfson, and Brian Netter. 

Read the amended complaint and emergency motion here.