A federal judge has banned U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from making arrests in or around three Manhattan immigration courts except under exceptional circumstances.
Key Takeaways
Federal judge P. Kevin Castel banned ICE arrests at three Manhattan immigration courts except under exceptional circumstances. The ruling applies to 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway.
- Judge Castel ruled ICE cannot make arrests in or around three Manhattan immigration courthouses
- Arrests are still allowed for serious threats to public safety away from courts
- The decision came in response to a lawsuit by the NYCLU, ACLU, Make the Road NY, and others
- Immigrant advocacy groups praised the ruling as an enormous win for noncitizen New Yorkers
According to CBS News, The Guardian, and Fox News, the ruling by U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel on Monday brings an abrupt halt to a practice begun under the Trump administration that enabled agents to take into custody individuals who followed requirements to appear before immigration judges.
The decision applies to immigration courts at 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway in Manhattan. The judge emphasized that federal agents can still detain individuals away from these locations or make arrests when there are serious threats to public safety.
Castel noted that the boundaries set out in federal policy five years ago can remain in effect but a court case before him was likely to result in a finding that the withdrawal of that policy after President Donald Trump took office was "arbitrary and capricious." He also mentioned that government lawyers recently reversed their position, saying they've learned that 2025 policies regarding arrests in and around courthouses set by the Trump administration did not apply to immigration courts.
The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Make the Road NY, and others. Amy Belsher, director of the NYCLU's Immigrants' Rights Litigation, called it "an enormous win for noncitizen New Yorkers seeking to safely attend their immigration court proceedings."
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement: "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." A spokesperson for Justice Department lawyers declined comment.
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