Federal judge blocks migrant arrests at immigration courts nationwide
Key takeaways
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement s (ICE) allowance of arrests at immigration courthouses was arbitrary and capricious — noting that the agency itself had waffled on what locations arrests were permitted.
- A related case in New York has previously barred immigration courthouse arrests at two locations in that state, but Pitt s ruling is the first to apply nationwide.
- Pitts, an appointee of former President Biden, referenced the debacle in his own ruling.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
The ruling from San Francisco-based U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts found that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement s (ICE) allowance of arrests at immigration courthouses was arbitrary and capricious — noting that the agency itself had waffled on what locations arrests were permitted.
It is now clear that the lack of connection between ICE s stated rationales for the 2025 courthouse-arrest policies and the expansion of arrests at immigration courthouses results not from merely unreasoned decisionmaking but a complete lack of decisionmaking, Pitts wrote.
A related case in New York has previously barred immigration courthouse arrests at two locations in that state, but Pitt s ruling is the first to apply nationwide.