A federal judge has barred US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from conducting arrests inside or around three lower Manhattan federal courthouses, marking a significant curb on enforcement operations that have triggered heated street confrontations since the start of the Trump administration.
US District Judge P Kevin Castel issued the order Monday, prohibiting ICE detentions at 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway except in extraordinary circumstances where public safety is at immediate risk. The ban applies only to these three Manhattan locations and does not extend nationwide.
The ruling emerged from a lawsuit filed by civil rights groups including the New York Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road NY, African Communities Together, and the Door. Amy Belsher, an ACLU attorney, called the decision "an enormous win for noncitizen New Yorkers seeking to safely attend their immigration court proceedings."
In his 15-page order, Castel acknowledged that while the government has legitimate interest in enforcing immigration law, individuals also have a fundamental right to appear before immigration judges "without fear of arrest" to pursue removal hearings and asylum claims. The ruling preserves ICE's ability to detain immigrants at locations outside the courthouse perimeter.
The judge's decision followed an unusual reversal by government attorneys. In September, Castel had initially cleared the way for arrests at the immigration courts. But federal prosecutors recently informed him that they had misunderstood Trump administration policy, which they now claimed does not actually apply to immigration court facilities. Castel described this shift as necessary to "correct a clear error and prevent a manifest injustice."
Federal prosecutors later apologized in March for what they called a "material mistaken statement of fact" to the court, attributing the error to "agency attorney error." The government withdrew "portions of four briefs" and statements made during oral argument. Castel's ruling noted that federal enforcement policy established in April 2021 regarding courthouse operations should remain in place, and he indicated a pending case before him would likely determine that the Trump administration's reversal of that policy was "arbitrary and capricious."
The 26 Federal Plaza building, where ICE maintains an office, has become a flashpoint for immigration enforcement conflicts. The courthouse complex has witnessed repeated arrests, large-scale protests, and standoffs involving federal agents and demonstrators, including incidents involving detention of local elected officials.
The Manhattan ruling arrives as tensions over ICE tactics have intensified nationwide. Federal agents shot and killed two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, in separate incidents in Minneapolis in January. The killings sparked widespread street protests and shifted public opinion. Polling after the incidents showed most Americans believed immigration agents had overstepped their authority, prompting the Trump administration to make leadership changes at the agency.
Civil rights advocates argued that arrests at federal immigration facilities constituted a "profoundly unfair" practice that "undermined the rule of law and the integrity of immigration courts." Beth Baltimore of the Door noted the judge's decision "brings us hope" and said the organization would "continue to work tirelessly to support members who were terrified to go to their required court appearances."
Author James Rodriguez: "Castel's order exposes real cracks in how the Trump administration is executing its immigration enforcement playbook, and the government's own legal miscalculation speaks volumes about the rush to act without properly thinking through the legal ground."
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