DOJ Admits ICE Courthouse Arrests Based on "Erroneous" Legal Authority
The DOJ admitted it wrongly used an ICE memo to justify arresting hundreds of immigrants at immigration courthouses. The memo only applied to criminal courts, not immigration courts. The DOJ blamed ICE. DHS said arrests would continue anyway.
On March 25, 2026, DOJ lawyers sent a letter to U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel admitting that the legal basis the government had used for months to defend ICE arrests at immigration courthouses was wrong.
A May 2025 ICE guidance memo — cited repeatedly in court to justify the arrests — authorized enforcement actions "in or near courthouses." But the DOJ now admitted the memo "does not and has never applied to civil immigration enforcement actions in or near" immigration courts. It only covered criminal courthouses.
The consequences of the "error" were severe:
- Hundreds of people showing up for hearings on their immigration applications at Federal Plaza in New York City were detained by federal agents
- Judge Castel had previously denied requests to halt the arrests, relying partly on the now-abandoned guidance
- The government withdrew its previous legal arguments and spent months defending a position based on a memo that didn't apply
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton wrote: "We deeply regret that this error has come to light at this late stage, after the parties have expended significant resources and time to litigate this case." The DOJ blamed ICE, saying it had been "informed by ICE that the 2025 ICE Guidance applied to immigration courthouse arrests."
But the most telling response came from DHS itself: a spokesperson said there was no change in policy and "We will continue to arrest illegal aliens at immigration courts following their proceedings." The legal justification was wrong, the DOJ admitted it — and DHS said arrests would continue regardless.
The NYCLU called it "yet again another example of ICE's brazen disregard for the lives of immigrants." Arresting people at immigration courthouses has a chilling effect on anyone who might otherwise show up for their hearings — undermining the immigration court system itself.