A federal judge in California on Tuesday issued a nationwide block against the Trump administration’s policy of making arrests at immigration courts, putting an end to a practice that garnered national attention. Last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began detaining illegal immigrants in courthouse hallways across the country, sometimes moments after pleading their cases.

Background

The move raised alarm among attorneys and advocates who said the practice was turning immigration courts from places of due process into zones of fear and punishing people who were following the rules. Tuesday’s ruling marks a major blow to the Trump administration, which rescinded long-held guidance that had limited immigration enforcement in or near courthouses.

Trump officials had argued the previous guidance hampered the ability of immigration enforcement officers to apprehend dangerous individuals. In a 71-page ruling, Judge P. Casey Pitts acknowledged the “chilling effect” of ICE’s policy, finding that it was “arbitrary and capricious.”

Reaction

Jordan Wells, senior staff attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, applauded the ruling. “The courthouse is meant to be a refuge for the pursuit of justice, not a hunting ground for ICE. No illegal immigrant, whether appearing in San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, or New York, should be forced to choose between their liberty and their day in court,” Wells said in a statement.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.