Judge Halts ICE Courthouse Arrests After Admitted Error

ICE courthouse – A federal judge temporarily blocked ICE from arresting people during routine immigration court check-ins in New York City after the Trump administration acknowledged it used a legal memo incorrectly. The order pauses courthouse arrests—except for national secu

For many immigrant New Yorkers, the immigration courthouse isn’t just where a case gets heard. It has been where handcuffs have waited.

On Monday night, a federal judge stepped in to stop one of the Trump administration’s most alarming tactics: federal agents arresting people when they arrived for routine civil immigration court check-ins in New York City.

The ruling came after the administration revealed it should not have been making those arrests in the first place. Federal courthouse arrests have become one of the most jarring parts of Donald Trump’s immigration policy since he returned to office. Under the approach that now faces a pause. people attending mandatory check-ins at civil immigration court have routinely been arrested and sent to immigration jail—often with little opportunity for a bond hearing. Hundreds of people arriving for those check-ins. with no history of criminal behavior. have been placed into an expedited deportation process.

A federal agent involved with immigration court arrests described the dynamic bluntly last year: “This is fishing in a stocked pool. You tell them, ‘Show up at this location,’ and then they show up and you grab them.”

The policy at the center of the case began with a change made last year. ICE leadership rescinded a Biden-era memo that had prohibited most immigration court arrests because the practice created a “chilling” effect and “disincentivize[d] noncitizens from appearing for their hearings.” That left people with immigration court cases facing a choice that few can make freely: show up and risk arrest. or skip a court date and risk a deportation order being filed against them.

Monday’s order pauses the courthouse arrests for now, while a final decision is pending in a lawsuit challenging the policy. It also signals where the courts believe the government’s legal foundation has been shaky enough to warrant immediate action.

Judge P. Kevin Castel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ordered a temporary halt to arrests for the time being. with limited exceptions. The pause means that three New York City immigration courts and their check-in sites will revert to the Biden-era policy. Under that earlier approach, arrests are only permitted for national security threats and “imminent” risks.

Castel’s ruling was also grounded in how the administration handled the facts in court. The decision followed admissions by the Justice Department that it made a “material mistaken statement of fact” and committed an “attorney agency error” on ICE’s part. Prosecutors told the judge that ICE had claimed it was legally allowed to make immigration arrests in court. But the legal memo ICE had cited, the government acknowledged, applied only to criminal courts—not to immigration courthouses.

The Justice Department attorneys told the court that ICE attorneys had assured them that the courthouse arrest policy applied to immigration courts as well. The judge noted that those attorneys had made that claim as recently as January, only to reverse course in March.

Castel said Monday’s reexamination of the courthouse arrests—after the administration admitted its “error”—was necessary “both to correct a clear error and prevent a manifest injustice.”

The judge also made clear that the immigration courts and immigration judges are part of the executive branch. Their parent agency is the Justice Department, not the independent judicial branch.

The scope of the decision could stretch beyond New York. Castel said the legal logic he relied on could have national implications if other organizations apply it elsewhere. He pointed out that “The 2025 ICE Courthouse Arrest Policies. on their face. appear to apply to all courthouses. ” underscoring how the government’s policy language may not be limited to one city.

The case is being pushed by The Door, an immigrants’ rights group that is a plaintiff. In court filings, the group “demonstrated a substantial likelihood” that the Trump administration policy will be found to be “arbitrary and capricious” when the full case is decided.

The administration signaled it plans to fight the ruling. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The New York Times on Monday night. “It is common sense to take illegal aliens into custody following the completion of their removal proceedings. Nothing prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them. We are confident we will ultimately be vindicated in this case.”.

The Door responded with relief and a warning that people still remain trapped in the consequences of the policy. “In the face of this administration’s ongoing targeting of our young members. this decision brings us hope. ” Beth Baltimore. deputy director of The Door’s legal services center. said in a statement celebrating the decision. “Our staff continues to work tirelessly to support Door members who were terrified to go to their required court appearances. We stand with our members to fight for those impacted by courthouse arrests. including those who remain detained. and other cruel policies.”.

Civil rights advocates said the temporary pause won’t erase what happened while the policy was in effect. “For nearly a year. countless immigrant New Yorkers have been arrested simply for attending their court hearings at 26 Federal Plaza. ” said Harold Solis. co-legal director of Make the Road New York. another group that has fought the courthouse arrest policy.

Solis said clients had sought preliminary relief but were denied based on information the government later acknowledged was false. “All the while, immigration courthouses became places of fear, and not due process,” Solis said. “Almost on a daily basis. parents were ripped away from their children. students were detained. and loved ones disappeared into inhumane detention centers as a result of these immigration courthouse arrests. We welcome today’s decision, which for many will feel long overdue. For them and the countless others who remain fearful, we hope today signals an end to this chaos.”.

The ruling, for now, changes what happens at the moment people show up. But the court fight is not over. Castel’s order pauses arrests only temporarily and keeps a final decision tied to the lawsuit underway—while the administration appeals its way back toward its original approach.

ICE courthouse arrests immigration court check-ins P. Kevin Castel Southern District of New York Trump administration Department of Homeland Security The Door Make the Road New York bond hearings deportation process attorney agency error Biden-era memo