"Federal agents detain a man after exiting a court hearing in immigration court at the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building on September 12, 2025, in New York City. Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images A US judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked two federal agencies from arresting noncitizens at immigration courthouses in the San Francisco area, a ruling hailed by migrant justice advocates amid ongoing legal challenges to the Trump administration's policy."
""Plaintiffs have established a likelihood that members of the courthouse-arrest class will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a stay," Pitts, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote in his 38-page ruling. "ICE has arrested large numbers of noncitizens at immigration courthouses in northern California pursuant to the challenged courthouse arrest policies, and it avows that it will continue doing so.""
""This circumstance presents noncitizens in removal proceedings with a Hobson's choice between two irreparable harms," Pitts wrote in his decision. "First, they may appear in immigration court and face likely arrest and detention... And for many class members whom ICE arrests under the challenged policies... such an arrest would likely violate their rights under the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment.""
US District Judge Casey Pitts granted a temporary stay in Sequen v. Albarran that prevents Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Executive Office for Immigration Review from conducting arrests at immigration courthouses within ICE's San Francisco Area of Responsibility. The stay remains in effect pending a broader legal challenge. The ruling cites the likelihood of irreparable harm to members of the courthouse-arrest class and notes that ICE has arrested large numbers of noncitizens at northern California immigration courthouses and intends to continue doing so. The opinion highlights past policies avoiding arrests at sensitive locations and raises due process concerns for arrested class members.
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