1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

In December 2025, U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb issued a temporary injunction blocking ICE's advance notice requirement for congressional visits to immigration detention facilities. This ruling affirmed that the Trump administration's seven-day advance notice policy likely violates federal law, which explicitly grants Congress the right to conduct unannounced oversight visits. However, this injunction is temporary and the administration is expected to appeal, creating a narrow window before an appellate court could reverse or weaken this decision. I urge you to exercise your congressional oversight authority immediately by visiting ICE detention and processing centers without advance notice while this legal protection remains in place. Judge Cobb's reasoning was clear: advance notice allows facilities to conceal abuse, stage conditions, and evade accountability. Unannounced visits are essential to observing actual conditions rather than sanitized presentations. Reports from these facilities describe deeply troubling conditions. Detainees are held in unsanitary environments with little edible food, lights on continuously day and night, and only hard concrete floors for sleeping. More than 30 people have died in ICE custody. Detainees have been denied necessary medical attention, and numerous reports document sexual assaults. These conditions violate basic standards of human dignity and raise serious questions about whether the United States government is meeting its legal and moral obligations to people in its custody. Federal law grants you oversight authority for a reason. When people are detained by the American government, they are entitled to clean, sanitary, safe, and humane conditions regardless of their immigration status. Your personal observation through unannounced visits is the only way to verify whether these standards are being met or whether the reported abuses are systemic. Time is critical. Delay benefits secrecy and allows harmful conditions to continue unchecked. I ask you to visit ICE detention centers immediately while you have clear legal authority to do so, document what you observe, and take action to ensure humane treatment for all people held in federal custody.