Judge Blocks Most ICE Arrests At Courts

U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making most civil arrests in and around three Manhattan immigration courthouses on May 18, reversing an earlier ruling that had let the practice continue. The order applies to 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway and 201 Varick Street, where non-detained immigrants have been appearing for required hearings while ICE officers waited in hallways and other courthouse areas. (abcnews.com) Castel said the court had to revisit its earlier decision after federal prosecutors acknowledged in March that they had given the judge incorrect information about the legal basis for the arrests. (nyic.org) The case is African Communities Together v. Lyons, a challenge brought by immigrant-assistance groups against federal officials. (courthousenews.com) ### Why did the judge reverse himself? March 24, 2026, was the turning point in the case. On that date, Assistant U.S. attorneys told Castel they were correcting a “material mistaken statement of fact” made to the court and to the plaintiffs, withdrawing parts of four briefs and statements made at oral argument. The government said ICE had told Justice Department lawyers that a May 27, 2025 memorandum on civil immigration enforcement actions in or near courthouses applied to immigration courts. In the March filing, prosecutors said that was wrong: the memo “does not and has never applied” to immigration-court arrests. Castel wrote that the concession went “to the heart” of his earlier decision and warranted reexamination to correct what he described as clear error and prevent manifest injustice. (nyic.org) ### Which arrests are now blocked, and where? Three lower Manhattan sites are covered by the order: 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway and 201 Varick Street. The ruling largely prohibits civil immigration arrests in or near those courthouses while the lawsuit proceeds. (courthousenews.com) Exceptional circumstances remain. News reports describing the order said ICE may still act where there is a public-safety or national-security threat, or an imminent risk of violence or physical harm. Castel also wrote that people must be able to participate in deportation proceedings or file asylum claims before a judge without fear of arrest. (courthousenews.com) ### Who brought the case against the government? African Communities Together and The Door filed the lawsuit in 2025, arguing that courthouse arrests turned mandatory appearances into traps and deterred people from showing up for hearings. The groups are represented by lawyers from the New York Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union and Make the Road New York, according to reports on the case. (nyic.org) Harold Solis of Make the Road said in a statement after the ruling that “countless immigrant New Yorkers” had been arrested simply for attending hearings at 26 Federal Plaza. Amy Belsher of the New York Civil Liberties Union had told the court earlier that the government’s error helped allow detentions that sent people to facilities “hundreds of miles away.” (gothamist.com) ### How broad had the courthouse arrest campaign become? New York City had become the center of immigration courthouse arrests nationwide, according to Documented, which said the practice helped drive a 212% rise in non-jail-based ICE arrests since the start of the second Trump administration. Courthouse News reported that masked federal agents had been apprehending people in hallways outside mandatory court appearances at 26 Federal Plaza. (courthousenews.com) The policy under challenge traces to January 21, 2025 interim guidance and May 27, 2025 final guidance issued by acting ICE directors, according to Castel’s order. Plaintiffs argued those policies, combined with an Executive Office for Immigration Review directive on dismissals, made it easier for ICE to detain people after their cases were dropped in court. (documentedny.com) ### Did the ruling stop arrests immediately? A day after the ruling, immigrant-rights advocates said ICE agents detained a 21-year-old man at one of the covered federal buildings, raising questions about compliance with the order. The Associated Press reported the arrest on May 19 after Castel’s decision had already taken effect. (documentedny.com) The Department of Homeland Security has defended the practice. An unnamed DHS spokesperson told Documented the arrests were “commonsense” and said, “Nothing prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them. We are confident we will ultimately be vindicated in this case.” (courthousenews.com) ### What happens next in the case? The stay remains in place while African Communities Together v. Lyons moves forward in the Southern District of New York. Because the order is preliminary, the Justice Department and ICE can continue litigating the merits and can ask a higher court to review Castel’s ruling. (apnews.com) Manhattan remains the immediate focal point. The next formal steps will come through filings in federal court or any appeal by the government, while the order continues to govern arrests at 26 Federal Plaza, 290 Broadway and 201 Varick Street. (courthousenews.com) (documentedny.com)