Judge orders end to courthouse arrests across Northern California - for now

"A federal judge on Friday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pause immigration arrests at courthouses across Northern California and in Pacific islands, a ruling that could still be appealed by the Trump administration. Since May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested hundreds of people at routine check-ins and court hearings in San Francisco, Concord, and other immigration courthouses across the state and country."

"The American Civil Liberties Union argued in a lawsuit that the widespread arrests have "torn apart families" and "interfered with people's ability to access counsel and to pursue eligible claims for relief," meaning that it has hindered their ability to pursue asylum. The lawsuit, Garro Pinchi v. Noem, filed by the ACLU and partner firms in October, argued that ICE arrested immigrants who pose no danger or flight risk, breaking from 40 years of past practice and violating their due process rights."

"Pitts found that the change in policy likely violated due process by detaining people who had already been released by the government "without first making an individualized determination that the individual's material circumstances had changed, such that they posed a flight or security risk." The "deprivation of physical liberty by detention" and the "deprivation of constitutional rights" caused "irreparable" harm, Pitts wrote."

A federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pause immigration arrests at courthouses across Northern California and Pacific islands, with the administration able to appeal. Since May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested hundreds of people at routine check-ins and court hearings in San Francisco, Concord, and other courthouses. The ACLU argued that the arrests tore apart families and interfered with access to counsel and asylum claims. The lawsuit Garro Pinchi v. Noem alleged ICE re-arrested noncitizens released earlier without individualized determinations, breaking longstanding practice. Judge Casey Pitts wrote the policy likely violated due process, caused irreparable harm, lacked written justification, and granted class-action status.

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