Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has issued a new policy requiring members of Congress to provide seven days’ advance notice before conducting oversight visits to Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities. This directive came one day after fatal shooting of a US citizen by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.

The policy, dated January 8, 2026, was filed in federal court on Saturday and came to public attention after three Democratic lawmakers from Minnesota were denied entry to an ICE facility at the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Representatives Ilhan Omar, Angie Craig, and Kelly Morrison had attempted to inspect the facility that same day.

The new directive mirrors a previous policy that U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb struck down on December 17, 2025, in the case Neguse v. ICE. Judge Cobb ruled that DHS’s advance notice requirement violated Section 527(b) of the department’s appropriations law, which explicitly prohibits the use of federal funds to prevent members of Congress from entering facilities “used to detain or otherwise house aliens” for oversight purposes.​​

However, Noem’s new memorandum employs a legal workaround by mandating that the policy “be implemented and enforced exclusively with money appropriated by the OBBBA”—the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, President Donald Trump’s signature legislative package signed into law on July 4, 2025. The memorandum states that Judge Cobb “explicitly acknowledged” that OBBBA funds “are not subject to Section 527’s limitations.” This is a legal theory instead of a judicially-accepted conclusion.

The three Minnesota representatives said they were initially granted access to the facility on Saturday morning but were abruptly ordered to leave shortly after entering. According to Representative Craig, ICE officials told them that “since the funding for this center came from the one ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ not the congressional appropriations bill, that they were denying our access.”​

“Members of Congress have a legal right and constitutional duty to oversee where people are detained,” Omar wrote on social media after being denied entry. “The public deserves to know what is taking place in ICE facilities.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities have been the subject reports citing severe medical neglect, inhumane living conditions, and violations of federal detention standards.

Reporting by the Guardian indicates that 2025 was the deadliest year in ICE detention in roughly 20 years, with at least 32 people losing their lives in custody. Seven of those deaths occurred in December alone, and by early January 2026, advocates had already documented at least six additional deaths in ICE facilities. Around mid‑December, ICE was detaining 68,440 people, and nearly three‑quarters of them had no criminal convictions.

A Senate investigation led by Senator Jon Ossoff documented more than 80 credible cases of medical neglect between January and August 2025. The report detailed life-threatening delays in medical care, including:​

• A detainee who suffered a heart attack after complaining of chest pain for days without treatment​
• Detainees denied insulin and other essential medications for chronic conditions​
• Asthma inhalers and medications withheld from detainees​
• Prescriptions taking weeks to be filled while detainees suffered​
• Potential exposure to mosquito-borne illness without prophylactic malaria treatment

According to a November 2025 lawsuit against the California City Detention Facility in the Mojave Desert, plaintiffs reported:

Fernando Gomez Ruiz, a father of two who lived in Los Angeles for 22 years, is an insulin-dependent diabetic who has been denied regular doses of insulin since his arrival in mid-October 2025, resulting in elevated blood sugar levels and a large, oozing ulcer on his foot that he is forced to cover with soiled bandages.​

Fernando Viera Reyes arrived with a pending appointment for a prostate cancer biopsy. Months later, he has still not seen a urologist despite experiencing abnormal bloodwork and bleeding with urination that may indicate his cancer has metastasized.​

Jose Ruiz Canizales is Deaf and communicates through American Sign Language. Since his arrival on August 29, 2025, he has been provided a sign language interpreter only once. Without interpretation, he has been left completely isolated, unable to understand staff directions, ask for medical care, or effectively communicate.​

Yuri Alexander Roque Campos has a heart anomaly requiring daily monitoring and medication. He has been denied his heart medications for days at a time, resulting in two emergency hospitalizations for severe chest pain. A doctor warned him that another episode could be fatal.​

Sokhean Keo has chronic medical conditions requiring specialty care, but was told those appointments were cancelled because the facility has no contracts with specialty doctors. He is hard of hearing and has limited mobility but has been denied appropriate accommodations.

Gustavo Guevara Alarcon has experienced threats of discipline and solitary confinement that are disproportionate and excessive, including placement in solitary for asking to finish his shower.

Alejandro Mendiola Escutia has experienced significant difficulty communicating with his immigration attorney due to restrictive policies.

Other cases include:

Broadview ICE Facility, Illinois: Detainees reported being forced to sleep on concrete floors amid “urine and dirty water” for days or even weeks. They were denied adequate food, water, hygiene products, menstrual supplies, and access to showers. Federal agents blocked access to legal counsel and pressured detainees to sign voluntary deportation forms to escape the facility’s conditions.

ICE Holding Cells, Maryland: People were denied access to food, blankets, mattresses, showers, and medical care while being held in cells ICE itself deemed unsuitable for anything beyond short-term use. The lawsuit challenged violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and Fifth Amendment due process protections.

Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (Batavia), New York: Officials had subjected detainees to excessive force, rampant overcrowding, and prolonged solitary confinement.

Southern California detention facilities: Workers, family members, and community groups sued DHS in July 2025 for unlawful arrest and detention, alleging people were “whisked away and disappeared into a grossly overcrowded dungeon-like facility lacking food, medical care, basic hygiene, and beds.”

Florida immigration detention centers: A July 2025 Human Rights Watch report documented abusive practices at three Florida facilities (Krome, BTC, and FDC), including medical neglect, use of force, and solitary confinement in violation of ICE’s own standards.

Under Noem’s new directive, facility visit requests must be submitted at least seven days in advance to the Office of Congressional Relations. Requests are not considered actionable until acknowledged by the Office of Congressional Relations.

Visit requests must include the proposed date, location, duration, and names and titles of all participants. Only members and staff who are scheduled and confirmed will be allowed to participate.