Courthouse arrests debate resurfaces
Discussion resurfaced about ICE courthouse arrests after a government admission that erroneous legal memos were used in some detentions — commentators note removals following losses are nevertheless common in immigration proceedings. The exchange underscores ongoing controversy over enforcement tactics at courts. (x.com)
The Justice Department told U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel it had repeatedly cited a May 27, 2025 ICE internal memo titled “Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions in or Near Courthouses” even though the government now concedes that guidance was never meant to apply to immigration courts. (courtnews.org) The concession arrived in a March 24, 2026 letter filed by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in African Communities Together v. Lyons, Case No. 25‑cv‑06366‑PKC in the Southern District of New York. (courtnews.org) Following that filing the government formally withdrew portions of ECF Nos. 39, 66, 70 and 74 and Judge Castel ordered the preservation of all records and communications related to the May 2025 memo. (courtnews.org) The Department of Homeland Security has said ICE will continue arrests at immigration courts despite the DOJ admission, and DOJ lawyers told the court the misstatement was a “regrettable error” that does not undermine their other legal arguments. (cbsnews.com) Plaintiffs African Communities Together and The Door, represented by the New York Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU, told the court that courthouse arrests since mid‑2025 have produced hundreds of detentions, frequently placing people in facilities hundreds of miles from where their hearings occurred. (courtnews.org) Advocates point to agency directives and operational shifts — including an ICE Feb. 18, 2025 instruction directing Enforcement and Removal Operations to “carefully review for removal all cases reporting on the non‑detained docket” and reporting that ICE uses arrests after dismissals to trigger expedited removals — to explain why removals often follow adverse or dismissed outcomes in immigration proceedings. (immpolicytracking.org) Local coverage highlighted concentrated activity at Manhattan’s 26 Federal Plaza and cited a reported 212% increase in courthouse‑related arrests in New York since the start of the administration’s second term. (documentedny.com)
