US Federal court bars Trump administration from detaining migrants at immigration hearings

A federal judge in California on Tuesday (June 24) has barred the Trump administration from making arrests at immigration courts across the United States. The ruling came after federal agents increasingly began detaining migrants outside immigration courts following their asylum hearings after President Donald Trump returned to office.

The practice placed many migrants in a difficult position, as failing to appear for immigration hearings can, in certain cases, be considered an offence and may increase the risk of deportation. As a result, many felt compelled to attend court despite the possibility of being arrested.

US District Judge P. Casey Pitts found that the policy breached the Administrative Procedure Act, describing it as “arbitrary and capricious.” He said both ICE and the Executive Office for Immigration Review had not offered adequate justification for the policy and noted that the presence of enforcement agents at courthouses created a “chilling effect” on migrants seeking legal relief.

Meanwhile, James Percival, general counsel at Homeland Security, condemned the ruling, stating that a noncitizen ordered to be deported by an immigration judge should be considered similar to the act of a defendant convicted of a crime. "A district judge ordering otherwise is naked judicial activism in service of an anti-American, open borders agenda," he said on his social media platform X.

Trump has pushed the boundaries of executive authority in his efforts to tighten immigration enforcement against undocumented migrants, arguing that the United States is facing an influx of criminals and other individuals he considers undesirable.