Overview
- U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts issued a 71-page decision that placed a nationwide injunction on ICE and EOIR courthouse arrest practices, stopping the policy while the lawsuit proceeds.
- The court ruled the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act by rescinding 2021 limits without a reasoned explanation, calling the 2025 policies arbitrary and capricious.
- Reporting and court filings documented arrests in immigration-court hallways, sometimes after cases were dismissed, and the judge highlighted that visible enforcement can chill noncitizens from attending hearings.
- The Justice Department told a judge that an ICE memo the government had relied on does not govern civil enforcement at immigration courts, and DHS general counsel James Percival denounced the ruling and signaled the government may appeal.
- A separate D.C. Circuit ruling the same day broadened who can face expedited removal, leaving the administration with a new tool even as the injunction limits courthouse arrests.