Judge Stops NYC Immigration Court Arrests

A Federal Judge Ruled 5/18/2026, that Federal Agents are Temporarily Barred from Arresting People at Routine Immigration Court Check-Ins in New York City, after the Trump (R) Administration revealed it should Not have been Making such Arrests in the First Place.

The Courthouse Arrests are among the most Jarring aspects of Trump’s Immigration Policy, sinceHhe Returned to Office. People attending Mandatory Check-Ins at Civil Immigration Court have Routinely been Arrested and sent to Immigration Jail, Largely Without the Opportunity for a Bond Hearing. Hundreds of People Arriving for Routine Check-Ins, with No History of Criminal Behavior, have Ended-Up behind Bars and Placed in an Expedited Deportation Process.

The Arrests were the Result of a 2025 Policy Change: ICE Leadership Rescinded a Biden-era Memo that Prohibited most Immigration Court Arrests, because they Created a “chilling” Effect and “disincentivize[d] noncitizens from appearing for their hearings.” Many People with Immigration Court Cases faced an Impossible Choice: Show up to Court and Risk Arrest, or Skip a Court Date and Risk a Deportation Order being Filed against them as a Result.

Monday’s Ruling Pauses the Arrests for Now, except under Certain Circumstances, Pending a Final Decision in a Lawsuit over the Policy. The Door, an Immigrants’ Rights Group that is a Plaintiff in the Case, “demonstrated a substantial likelihood” that the Trump Administration Policy will be Found to be “arbitrary and capricious” when the Full Case is Decided, wrote Judge P. Kevin Castel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The Pause means that Three New York City Immigration Courts and Check-In Sites will Revert to the Biden-era Policy, with Arrests only Permitted for National Security Threats and “Imminent” Risks. The Decision came after Justice Department Attorneys Admitted a “material mistaken statement of fact” and an “attorney agency error” on Immigration and Customs Enforcement( ICE’s) part: ICE had Asserted the Right to make Immigration Arrests in Court, but the Legal Memo it cited had, in fact, applied only to Criminal Courts, not to Immigration Courthouses.

The Justice Department Attorneys told the Judge, that ICE Attorneys had Assured them that the Courthouse Arrest Policy applied to Immigration Courts as well. The Attorneys had Stated as such as recently as 1/2026, the judge Noted, only to Reverse their Position in 3/2026. Castel wrote 5/18/2026 that His Decision to Reexamine the Courthouse Arrests, after Allowing them Prior to the Trump Administration Admitting its “Error”, was Necessary “both to correct a clear error and prevent a manifest injustice.”

Immigration Courts and Immigration judges are part of the Executive Branch, their Parent Agency is the Justice Department (DOJ), and are Not Part of the Independent Judicial Branch. The Decision could have National Implications if Organizations in other Jurisdictions apply Castel’s Legal Logic.

NYC runs under its own Charter, Created before NY became a State.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker