ICE Revises Court Arrests and Vehicle-Stop Practices

A federal judge in New York has barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from detaining individuals at immigration-court hearings, overturning a Trump-administration policy that allowed such arrests. In a separate internal memo, ICE’s executive associate director, Marcos D. Charles, ordered that agents may conduct vehicle stops only after completing designated training, must use marked federal vehicles with activated lights and sirens, and must wear body-worn cameras. The guidance also prohibits agents from engaging in high-speed pursuits, limiting them to gathering information for later investigation.

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During the Biden administration, a 2025 policy prohibited ICE from making arrests at immigration courthouses. That protection was later revoked, leading to a surge in detentions at both criminal and immigration courts. The practice drew criticism after incidents such as the shooting of an immigrant delivering for DoorDash in Austin, Texas, and several fatal vehicle-stop shootings nationwide. Those events prompted the Department of Homeland Security to reassess ICE’s use of “pinning” tactics and tire-deflation devices during stops.

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Judge P. Kevin Castel, who appointed the ruling, described the prior courthouse-arrest policy as “arbitrary and capricious” and ordered the reinstatement of the 2025 protections. ICE officials highlighted the new memo as a “safety-focused” adjustment intended to protect both agents and the public.

Newsweek

Critics argue that ICE’s past tactics amounted to “mass immigration arrests” that were “cruel” and “unjustified.” Oscar Sarabia Roman, a staff attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, emphasized that “people should not be arrested for doing exactly what the legal system requires of them.” The ACLU and other advocacy groups contend that the prior policy created a climate of fear for immigrants attending court.

Newsweek

The judge’s order restores the 2025 courthouse-arrest protections, and ICE field offices are required to implement the training and equipment standards outlined in Charles’s memo. Agencies will monitor compliance as the new procedures take effect, with no further deadlines disclosed.

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