A major decision was handed down on Monday that will make it harder for Democrats to hold the Trump administration accountable for conditions inside Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, according to a new report.
U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb declined to block a new Department of Homeland Security policy that limits when Congressional lawmakers can visit ICE facilities, The Denver Post reported. The new rules require lawmakers to give at least 7 days' notice before visits. Democrats like Reps. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Joe Neguse (D-CO) have challenged the rules in court.
"Cobb wrote that she wasn’t necessarily finding that the newly established requirement was lawful," The Denver Post reported. "But said the lawmakers’ lawsuit wasn’t the proper way to challenge it: While she noted that ICE’s new directive leaned on new funding, she said that her December order — blocking the first ICE policy — “did not purport to address all future DHS policies which may implicate congressional access” to detention centers."
The ruling was handed down as Trump's immigration policies faced growing scrutiny. Multiple people have been shot by ICE agents this month, both during protests and during arrests, including a 37-year old mother named Renee Good, who was shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross while driving her car away from the scene of an ICE raid in her neighborhood.
Good's killing sparked protests nationwide and calls for DHS Secretary Krist Noem to be impeached.
