After ICE Admitted Having No Justification for Arrests at Immigration Courthouses, District Court Grants Stay Prohibiting ICE From Conducting Courthouse Arrests
ICE is now largely prohibited from conducting civil immigration arrests at Immigration Courts in New York City
NEW YORK – Following Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) recent admission that it has no justification for conducting mass arrests at courthouses, as we speak a District Court granted to stay in African Communities Together and The Door v. Todd Lyons — the lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Make the Road NY (MRNY), and Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) difficult ICE’s merciless, illegal insurance policies that permit ICE brokers to arrest folks for exhibiting as much as court docket and forestall them from pursuing their immigration circumstances.
With this keep, ICE officers are largely prohibited from conducting civil immigration enforcement actions in or close to 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway because the case proceeds. Now, officers should adhere to ICE’s 2021 guidancewhich solely permits immigration court docket arrests in very restricted circumstances.
“Today’s ruling is an enormous win for noncitizen New Yorkers seeking to safely attend their immigration court proceedings,” he mentioned Amy Belsher, director of Immigrants’ Rights Litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union. “For nearly a year, we’ve watched masked ICE officers ambush noncitizens in courthouse hallways, throw immigrant New Yorkers to the ground, and tear children from their parents. Now, ICE has admitted that it does not and has never had an explanation or justification for conducting mass arrests at immigration courts. We look forward to a final ruling in the case that sets aside these cruel, pointless policies once and for all.”
“In the face of this administration’s ongoing targeting of our young members, this decision brings us hope,” he mentioned Beth Baltimore, deputy director of The Door’s Legal Services Center. “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.”
The organizations initially filed this lawsuit on behalf of African Communities Together and The Door on August 1, 2025. Soon after, the orgs requested for expedited reduction by way of a keep, which the Court partially denied in September 2025. But then, in a shocking revelation in Marchthe federal government admitted {that a} 2025 memorandum — which it had relied on all through the case to justify its immigration court docket arrest coverage — doesn’t and has by no means approved any immigration courthouse arrests. Immediately after, the organizations requested the Court to rethink their denial — which is what has occurred as we speak.
“The court was correct to block the Trump administration’s inhumane and unlawful tactic of ambushing people who are complying with their legal obligations at their court appointments,” he mentioned Hannah Steinberg, workers lawyer with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.
“We are grateful that the court recognized today what our clients and immigrant communities have been saying all along: allowing ICE to arrest people at immigration court without any limits undermines access to justice and erodes trust in the legal system,” he mentioned Katie Rosenfeld, Partner at Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP. “Today’s decision restores critical protections for people appearing in immigration court and reaffirms that federal agencies must follow the law when changing policies that affect fundamental rights and due process.”
“For nearly a year, countless immigrant New Yorkers have been arrested simply for attending their court hearings at 26 Federal Plaza,” he mentioned Harold Solis, co-legal director of Make the Road New York. “Our purchasers tried to place a cease to this final yr however had been denied preliminary reduction—primarily based on what the federal government lately acknowledged was false data. All the whereas, immigration courthouses grew to become locations of concern, and never due course of. Almost every day, dad and mom had been ripped away from their kids, college students had been detained, and family members disappeared into inhumane detention facilities because of these immigration courthouse arrests. We welcome as we speak’s determination, which for many will really feel lengthy overdue. For them and the numerous others who stay fearful, we hope “Today signals an end to this chaos.”
Since Trump took workplace, ICE has mounted an unprecedented marketing campaign of arresting folks at their mandated immigration court docket hearings, after which attempting to rapidly observe their deportation. This contains Dylana 16-year-old Bronx highschool who ICE arrested when attending a routine court docket date, and Oliver Mata Velazqueza 19 yr outdated residing in Buffalo who ICE focused, detained, and quick tracked for deportation. The NYCLU filed a lawsuit difficult Oliver’s illegal arrest and secured his release.
For extra data on this case, please see here.
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