A US District Judge has ruled that the federal government cannot make arrests at immigration courts, effectively ending a practice that began after President Donald Trump took office. The judge stated that the Trump administration’s decision to allow these arrests was not based on sound reasoning and would have a chilling effect on people attending court hearings.

Background

The Trump administration had reversed a long-standing policy against making arrests at immigration courts, which led to plainclothes agents making arrests in hallways in coordination with attorneys from the Department of Homeland Security. The judge, Casey Pitts, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, criticized the administration for carrying out these arrests and for holding people in nearby cells for longer than the prescribed 12-hour limit.

The ruling is the second setback for courthouse arrests since May, when a federal judge in New York barred them at immigration courts in that state. This latest decision, however, applies nationwide. James Percival, the US Homeland Security Department’s general counsel, criticized the ruling as an example of judicial overreach.

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