A federal judge in California has struck down Trump administration policies that expanded arrests at immigration courthouses and extended the detention of noncitizens in short-term facilities, ruling that the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and another agency were 'arbitrary and capricious'.
Key Ruling Details
U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts of the Northern District of California on Tuesday vacated ICE's policies that had rescinded previous restrictions on courthouse arrests and allowed detainees to be held in short-term cells for up to 72 hours. He also invalidated a similar policy by the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review that removed limits on courthouse arrests. The 71-page ruling reinstated Biden-era policies that limited courthouse arrests to narrow circumstances and capped short-term detentions at 12 hours.
Background of the Case
The case was brought by an asylum seeker who was arrested after departing a routine hearing at a San Francisco immigration court. Judge Pitts, appointed by President Joe Biden, found that the Trump administration failed to provide 'reasoned explanations' for rescinding previous policies, as required under the Administrative Procedure Act. 'For 80 years, Congress has commanded federal agencies to think before they act,' the judge wrote, adding that the law requires 'an agency at least provide sound reasons for following its chosen course.'
Administration Response
Since Donald Trump retook office in January 2025, his administration has ramped up arrests of immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally as part of an aggressive deportation push. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's general counsel, James Percival, criticized the ruling on social media, calling it 'naked judicial activism in service of an anti-American, open borders agenda.'
Impact on Enforcement
The previous guidance limited courthouse arrests to national security threats, imminent danger, and 'hot pursuit' of someone posing a public safety risk. The ruling effectively restores those constraints, potentially affecting ICE's enforcement operations nationwide. The Biden-era policies had been in place before the Trump administration rescinded them, and this decision reinstates them pending further action.
