CBS News report revealed DOJ immigration court locked out independent observers at Minneapolis's Whipple building

CBS News Minnesota reported on January 14, 2026 that court observers from The Advocates for Human Rights have been denied or severely restricted from accessing immigration courtrooms at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis: courtroom doors locked, observers turned away entirely at times, lobby access restricted even when courtroom access was granted, and names and complete case numbers stripped from case records, hampering the organization's ability to track cases. Advocacy director Madeline Lohman said the effect has been "to hide what they are doing to make it difficult to document." The organization has operated its Immigration Court Observation Project at the same courthouse, then known as Fort Snelling, since 2017, previously with the court's cooperation.

The restrictions began in early 2025 and intensified through the year, according to the organization's own later account: courtroom doors were locked during routine scheduled hearings, entire dockets were closed without case-specific justification, public access to virtual Webex hearings was eliminated, observers were required to wear identification lanyards not mandated by federal regulation, and observers were expelled from the lobby and hallways with seating removed. Advocates documented individuals denied the ability to argue their own cases and being handcuffed immediately after courtroom exits, previously visible from the lobby before lobby access was also restricted.

DOJ's own published fact sheet states immigration courts are open to the public with limited exceptions, such as when a judge grants a motion to close a hearing or limit attendance; no such motion or other government justification for the ongoing restrictions was reported. CBS News Minnesota sought comment from the immigration court system; none was provided.

Updates

2026-03-12 — The Advocates for Human Rights sued DOJ over the access restrictions [3]

The Advocates for Human Rights filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice alleging the courtroom-access and docket-closure practices at Fort Snelling violated the First Amendment, the Administrative Procedure Act, and DOJ's own regulations governing public access to immigration court hearings. The organization's own account of the underlying restrictions detailed locking courtroom doors during routine scheduled hearings, blanket docket closures without case-specific justification, elimination of public access to virtual hearings, mandatory identification lanyards not required by federal regulation, and expulsion of observers from the lobby and hallways.