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Federal Judge Stops Immigration Arrests Near Courthouses

Friday, June 26, 2026
5 min read
Federal Judge Stops Immigration Arrests Near Courthouses

A federal judge in California basically slammed the door shut on the Trump administration’s plan last Tuesday. It stopped them from letting immigration authorities arrest migrants right at courthouses, issuing this nationwide order that temporarily freezes that practice.

The policy itself had been introduced earlier that year. It let ICE officers detain migrants inside or near immigration courts often immediately after hearings. It was a big move, and it caused immediate uproar. Lawyers quickly stepped in, arguing the whole setup turned those courts into zones of fear. People couldn't even get to court proceedings anymore because of it.

This ruling is a real hit for the Trump administration . They had actually reversed earlier rules about immigration enforcement near courthouses. The administration defended the original policy, claiming it gave ICE more flexibility to detain anyone they saw as a threat to public safety. A very broad defense, I guess.

But the judge didn't buy that argument. In his 71-page ruling, Judge P. Casey Pitts laid out why this whole thing was flawed. He called the ICE courthouse arrest policy something deeply problematic "arbitrary and capricious."

He pointed out the real issue: it had a "chilling effect" on migrants trying to get legal help. It basically stopped people from showing up in court. And that’s what matters, he said.

Pitts argued that extending those 2025 policies to immigration courts wouldn't fix anything. The policies just failed entirely to address the chilling effect of these arrests on noncitizens attending court. That factor is key, something ICE guidance touched on back in 2021, and it’s an "important aspect of the problem" all by itself.

He summed up the core failure: ICE's plans had no rational explanation for why they removed earlier restrictions or why they didn't extend their limitations to immigration courts at all. It just made no sense.

Meanwhile, people on the other side reacted pretty strongly. Jordan Wells, who works for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, welcomed the decision. He spoke out to CNN about it.

Wells put it plainly: "The courthouse is supposed to be a refuge for seeking justice, not some hunting ground for ICE." He insisted that no immigrant whether they are in San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, or New York should have to choose between their basic liberty and showing up for court. That's the kind of thing he was fighting for here.

Even the government side had to weigh in. Department of Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival wrote something on X about it. He basically said: "When a judge sentences someone, they get custody. If an immigration judge orders removal, that should happen too." And then he swung back at the administration’s stance, calling district judges who order otherwise just naked judicial activism for some anti-American agenda. It was a sharp jab, right in the middle of the legal fight.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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