Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), along with 12 other plaintiffs, were  granted emergency relief in his lawsuit to uphold congressional oversight at federal immigration detention facilities. A federal court ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to temporarily restore Members’ right to unannounced congressional oversight of federal detention facilities. 

Under federal law, Members of Congress have the right to conduct unannounced oversight of DHS facilities used for immigration detention, including facilities run by ICE and those operated by private companies. However in January, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem secretly imposed a policy requiring that Members of Congress provide seven days’ notice before being granted access to federal immigration detention facilities. 

In July 2025, Rep. Gomez sued the Trump Administration after it unlawfully denied him from a federal detention facility in Downtown Los Angeles.

Additional Members of Congress who were recently denied access to federal immigration detention facilities joined Gomez as plaintiffs in the lawsuit: Representatives Joe Neguse (D-CO-02), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02), Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), Dan Goldman (D-NY-10), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Norma Torres (D-CA-35), Raul Ruiz (D-CA-36), Robert Garcia (D-CA-42), Lou Correa (D-CA-46), and Kelly Morrison (MN-03).