Judge blocks ICE arrest in court after government pleads guilty to false claims
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A federal judge on Monday effectively blocked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement from arresting immigrants in several Manhattan courthouses, after federal lawyers admitted they made a “misrepresentation” defending the policy in court.
US District Judge P. Kevin Castel ruled that ICE officials should return to the narrow limits of the Biden era on arrests in court while a broader case is pending.
The decision marks a major reversal from Castel’s pre-2025 decision to refuse to suspend the policy. In March, however, Justice Department lawyers informed the court that they needed to correct earlier claims that ICE’s May 2025 court enforcement memo applied to immigration courts. The government later agreed to a directive that it “does not and has never applied” to immigration courts.
Castel said that the reversal of the case should be reconsidered the previous decision “to correct a clear error and prevent a clear injustice.”
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Federal agents arrest a man after leaving an immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City on July 23, 2025. NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams tour the courthouse to witness proceedings amid ongoing immigration detention. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Immigration advocacy groups in the case say the Trump administration’s administration policies have turned mandatory immigration hearings into detention operations, with alleged immigrants detained by ICE agents immediately after hearings.
ICE agents arrested dozens of immigrants inside the Federal Plaza courthouse in New York City on June 26 following their arraignment. (Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Castel wrote that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in arguing that the administration acted arbitrarily and negligently when it revoked ICE’s 2021 policy barring detention in court without adequately explaining how the new policy applies to immigration courts.
Members of the NYPD Strategic Response Group enter 26 Federal Plaza, where the immigration court is located, in New York on June 8, 2025. (Unknown)
The judge emphasized that the decision does not fully prevent arrests in the courts. ICE may still conduct enforcement actions involving threats to national security, imminent violence, heated situations or threats of criminal evidence.
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“Today’s decision is a huge win for non-resident New Yorkers who want to safely go to their immigration courts,” said Amy Belsher, director of immigration litigation at the NYCLU.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment but did not immediately receive responses.
