Federal judge sides with Colorado representatives, blocking ICE limits on congressional visits to detention centers

Seth Klamann, The Denver Post on Dec 17, 2025

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DENVER — A federal judge has temporarily blocked a new federal policy that limited congressional members’ ability to visit immigration detention centers, siding with a group of Democratic lawmakers that included U.S. Reps. Jason Crow and Joe Neguse of Colorado.

Wednesday’s ruling means that members of Congress can resume unannounced visits and tours of detention centers and field offices run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including ICE’s Aurora detention center. Congress had previously granted its members that authority under a prior funding bill.

But immigration authorities sought to unilaterally change the practice earlier this year by requiring lawmakers to provide seven days’ notice before turning up at the facilities.

Neguse, Crow and 10 other representatives filed the suit in July after they were denied access to various detention centers and field offices. They argued ICE’s policy tried to sidestep federal law.

In her opinion, Washington, D.C.-based U.S. District Court Judge Jia M. Cobb wrote that the lawmakers were likely to successfully argue that the new policy requiring seven days’ notice was “contrary to law and in excess of (the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s) statutory authority.” That department oversees ICE.

“The rule of law will prevail,” Neguse, of Lafayette, wrote on the social media platform X after Cobb’s ruling was posted.

In a separate post, Crow, of Aurora, wrote: “A court just ruled in our favor — stopping them from blocking our oversight efforts. I will continue fighting to hold Trump accountable.”

The ruling temporarily blocks ICE’s new policy while the rest of the lawsuit plays out. Cobb’s opinion also applies to field offices, which are not strictly detention centers but are often used to temporarily house ICE arrestees. A Colorado family arrested in Durango in October was kept in a local ICE field office overnight, for instance.

Together with Colorado’s other Democratic members of Congress, Crow and Neguse conducted a scheduled tour of the Aurora detention center in August. After the inspection, the lawmakers accused ICE of cleaning up the facility in anticipation of their arrival.

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