A federal judge has dealt another blow to the Trump administration’s immigration policies, striking down rules that expanded courthouse arrests and prolonged detention in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) holding facilities. U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts, nominated by former President Joe Biden, found that ICE and the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) did not provide the reasoned explanation required under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Background

The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of asylum seekers challenging ICE’s 2025 policies that removed restrictions on civil immigration arrests at courthouses, including immigration courts. The judge found ICE failed to adequately explain why it abandoned prior guidance that limited courthouse arrests due to concerns they could discourage immigrants from appearing for hearings and interfere with the administration of justice.

Pitts was particularly critical of the government’s handling of arrests at immigration courthouses, stating that the administration spent months defending the policy as applicable to immigration courts before later disclosing that ICE internally viewed the policy as not applying there at all. The judge ultimately concluded that the agency offered virtually no explanation for the change, with the policies being ‘devoid of rational explanation’ for the agency’s choices.

Impact

The ruling applies nationwide and differs from broad nationwide injunctions that the Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional in its 2025 decision in Trump v. CASA. Instead of issuing an injunction prohibiting the government from enforcing the policies, Pitts vacated them under the Administrative Procedure Act. When a court vacates a policy, it removes the policy itself rather than just limiting how it can be enforced.

The Department of Homeland Security sharply criticized Pitts’ ruling, with DHS General Counsel James Percival stating that the decision was ‘naked judicial activism in service of an anti-American, open borders agenda.’ However, the ruling emphasizes that the administration remains free to pursue tougher immigration enforcement policies if it follows the procedural requirements imposed by federal law.

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