Federal judge blocks Trump policy allowing ICE arrests at immigration courts nationwide

The ruling

A federal judge in California issued a nationwide order on Tuesday vacating the Trump administration's policies that permitted Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest people at immigration courts and hold them in short-term facilities for up to 72 hours. U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts of the Northern District of California, in a 71-page decision, called the policy changes "arbitrary and capricious" and said officials had failed to provide reasoned explanations as required by the Administrative Procedure Act.

For 80 years, Congress has commanded federal agencies to think before they act.

The ruling reinstated Biden-era policies that limited immigration courthouse arrests to narrow circumstances, such as national security threats or hot pursuit, and capped detentions in short-term cells at 12 hours. It also addressed a similar policy from the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review that had removed previous limits.

Reaction from the administration

The Department of Homeland Security's general counsel, James Percival, sharply criticised the ruling in a post on X, calling it "naked judicial activism in service of an anti-American, open borders agenda." Percival argued that noncitizens ordered removed by a judge should be taken into custody immediately, akin to convicted defendants. The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

When a judge sentences a defendant, the defendant is taken into custody. If an alien is ordered removed by an immigration judge, the same should happen.

Background of the policy shift

Since Donald Trump retook the presidency in January 2025, the administration has ramped up arrests of immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally as part of a mass deportation campaign. ICE agents began making arrests in the hallways of immigration courthouses, often detaining people who had appeared for routine hearings or check-ins. The policy removed previous guidelines that had restricted such arrests to cases involving public safety risks or imminent danger.

Impacts and courtroom scenes

The arrests became a flashpoint as masked ICE agents confronted migrants in courthouse corridors, sometimes separating them from family members. In New York, the practice sparked headline-grabbing protests, and more than a dozen Democratic elected officials were arrested as part of a demonstration inside a building housing an immigration court. A federal judge in Manhattan barred ICE from making arrests at immigration courts in New York City last month; Tuesday's ruling by Judge Pitts extended that prohibition nationwide.

Detention limits restored

The vacated policies had allowed noncitizens to be held in short-term ICE facilities for up to 72 hours, up from the 12-hour limit established under previous guidance. The ruling restores the lower cap. The case was brought by an asylum seeker who was arrested upon leaving a routine hearing at a San Francisco immigration court.

The decision marks the second federal court loss for the administration on this issue in as many months, further complicating the enforcement tactics at the heart of Trump's deportation push. Judge Pitts, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, denied a Justice Department request to limit the order to the San Francisco area, writing that it was "far from obvious" that the ruling would significantly hinder ICE's operations.