Overview
- U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking enforcement of the Jan. 8 directive against the 13 Democratic plaintiffs.
- The order concludes DHS has not shown it can implement or enforce the notice policy using only funds from the One Big Beautiful Bill.
- Cobb cited testimony from a former DHS and ICE budgeting official who said segregating expenditures to a single funding stream would be “logistically difficult, if not impossible.”
- The ruling reaffirms that delayed access inflicts irreparable harm on lawmakers’ oversight, which the judge said has become more urgent given intensified attention on ICE practices.
- The court set supplemental briefing deadlines for Feb. 8 and Feb. 11 as it considers longer-term relief, with the TRO set to expire on Feb. 16 absent further action.