Federal Judge Blocks ICE Courthouse Arrest Policy

The judge vacated President Trump’s executive order to let ICE agents conduct arrests at immigration courthouses.

A man in the hallways outside immigration courtrooms at Federal Plaza in New York City.

Trump’s executive order allowed immigration agents to arrest individuals while appearing at immigration courthouses for hearings — a move that eventually became a pillar of the administration’s mass deportation plans. (Andrea Renault/STAR MAX/IPx)

ICE can no longer conduct arrests at immigration courthouses, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

President Donald Trump overturned Biden-era immigration enforcement policies upon his inauguration, allowing immigration agents to arrest individuals while appearing at immigration courthouses for hearings — moves that eventually became a pillar of the administration’s mass deportation plans.

U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts, a Biden appointee, vacated Trump’s executive order and a separate detention waiver that allowed the agency to hold individuals for up to 72 hours, instead of the previous limit of 12 hours.