AURORA | Colorado Democratic Congressional Reps. Jason Crow and Joe Neguse conducted an unannounced oversight visit to the GEO ICE detention facility in Aurora Friday morning, marking their first such inspection since a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s effort to require advance notice for congressional visits.
The visit follows a ruling last week by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, who granted emergency relief to Crow, Neguse and other Democratic lawmakers from across the country challenging a Department of Homeland Security policy that required members of Congress to give seven days’ notice before entering immigration detention facilities.
The policy was imposed in January by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem without public announcement, according to the lawsuit.
Details about their inspection were not included in the announcement Friday.
Under federal law, members of Congress are permitted to conduct unannounced oversight of facilities used for immigration detention, including those run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and private contractors such as the GEO Group.
In a joint statement Friday, Crow and Neguse said the administration has attempted to block lawmakers from carrying out their oversight responsibilities.
“The Trump Administration is trying to block Members of Congress from doing our jobs of conducting oversight. So we took them to court,” the lawmakers said. “The law is clear: Members of Congress have the right to conduct oversight of federal immigration facilities.”
The congressional members also pointed to deaths in custody and the scale of federal spending on immigration detention.
“Last year was the deadliest year at federal detention facilities in decades,” Crow and Neguse said in their statement. “Billions of taxpayer dollars are being used to carry out a violent and lawless immigration agenda. Coloradans deserve transparency and accountability.”
The court order last week temporarily restored unannounced access to immigration detention centers while the legal challenge continues. ICE and DHS officials have argued the notice requirement is necessary for security and coordination, though lawmakers have rejected that explanation, saying it violates federal law and undermines congressional oversight.
Crow has long pushed for access to the privately operated GEO ICE detention facility in Aurora. Yesterday’s visit was his 11th inspection of the facility since 2019, according to his office. Crow’s staff has conducted more than 80 oversight visits to the site, and reports from those inspections are publicly posted on his website.
The dispute over access has unfolded amid increased scrutiny of immigration detention facilities nationwide, as detention has expanded under President Donald Trump’s policies and lawmakers have raised concerns about transparency, accountability and detainee welfare.