DOJ admits lack of authority for immigration court arrests

The Department of Justice agreed in a court filing Tuesday that federal immigration agents weren’t allowed to arrest people at their immigration court hearings. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had written in a May 2025 memo that their agents could detain individuals at ordinary courthouses. But it wasn’t until Tuesday that the DOJ learned from ICE that the memo didn’t apply to immigration courts, the department said in its filing.

Why was this issue before a federal court? In August 2025, New York-based immigration advocacy groups sued the Trump administration over its policy—seemingly outlined in the May 2025 memo from ICE—of detaining and arresting individuals at immigration court hearings. Implementing the policy violated both the Administrative Procedures Act and the U.S. Constitution, the immigration advocacy groups argued. As the court case progressed, news reports described instances of ICE agents arresting people as they showed up for their immigration court hearings.

What’s happening now, following the DOJ’s correction about this policy? The ACLU of New York, which represents the advocacy groups suing the Trump administration, on Wednesday wrote a letter to the judge overseeing the case. The letter requested that the judge reconsider decisions he made previously during the court proceedings based on the new information. The advocacy groups, African Communities Together and The Door, also requested 14 days to file a formal motion to that effect. The judge, as of Thursday morning, had not yet issued a response.

Dig deeper: Read my report in Compassion about a judge granting refugees relief from detention for not having green cards.