A US federal judge has struck down nationwide Trump administration policies that expanded immigration arrests at courthouses and allowed noncitizens to be held in short-term detention facilities for up to 72 hours.

US District Judge P. Casey Pitts of California ruled that the actions taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review were “arbitrary and capricious”.

The order effectively restores earlier restrictions that limited arrests at immigration courthouses to exceptional circumstances and capped detention in short-term facilities at 12 hours.

Court rejects expansion of courthouse arrests

The Trump administration had withdrawn previous guidelines restricting civil immigration arrests at courthouses.

Those protections generally limited arrests to situations involving national security threats, imminent danger or the “hot pursuit” of someone considered a public-safety risk.

Judge Pitts found that federal agencies failed to provide adequate justification for abandoning those safeguards, as required under the Administrative Procedure Act.

“For 80 years, Congress has commanded federal agencies to think before they act,” the judge wrote in the 71-page ruling, adding that the law requires “an agency at least provide sound reasons for following its chosen course.”

The court also overturned a similar Justice Department policy that had removed limits on immigration arrests at courthouses.

Case began with asylum seeker’s arrest

The case was brought by an asylum seeker who was arrested after leaving a routine hearing at a San Francisco immigration court.

The lawsuit challenged both the courthouse arrest policy and the conditions under which people were held after being detained.

Pitts overturned ICE’s policy allowing noncitizens to remain in short-term holding cells for up to 72 hours. The ruling reinstates the previous 12-hour limit.

The decision deals a setback to President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign, which has intensified since he returned to office in January 2025.

His administration has increased arrests and deportation efforts targeting people suspected of living in the United States without legal status.

Homeland Security attacks ruling

The Department of Homeland Security criticised the decision and indicated strong disagreement with the court’s intervention.

DHS General Counsel James Percival described the ruling on X as “naked judicial activism in service of an anti-American, open borders agenda.”

The administration may appeal the decision.

The ruling does not prevent immigration authorities from making arrests at courthouses in every circumstance. Instead, it restores the narrower framework under which such action is permitted only in specified situations involving heightened risks.

The decision requires ICE and the Justice Department to reconsider any future policy changes and provide a reasoned explanation that complies with federal administrative law.

(With inputs from PTI)

Published on: Jun 24, 2026 12:13 PM IST