Court Arrest Policy Sparks Controversy, Judge Overturns Trump Administration Policy

(Central News Agency, New York, June 23, Reuters) A federal judge in California today overturned a key part of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policy, ruling that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) cannot make arrests within immigration court premises, stating such actions were "arbitrary and capricious."

According to Reuters and the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts for the Northern District of California stated in a 71-page ruling today that previous guidance indicated arrests could only be made within court premises in cases of national security threats, imminent dangers, and "urgent pursuits of individuals posing potential public safety threats."

However, after President Donald Trump began his second term in January of last year, ICE not only rescinded the aforementioned policy, expanding arrest authority inside and outside immigration courts, but also extended the detention period for those arrested in short-term detention facilities from 12 hours to 72 hours. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, under the Department of Justice, also adopted a similar policy.

Pitts argued that when the Trump administration rescinded the original guidelines, it failed to provide a reasonable justification as required by the Administrative Procedure Act.

Pitts' ruling today was in response to a lawsuit filed by an asylum seeker who was arrested after finishing a routine hearing at the San Francisco immigration court and was preparing to leave.

Pitts pointed out that the Trump administration's overturning of the long-standing policy prohibiting arrests in immigration courts was "not only an unthinking decision, but a complete lack of decision-making." The relevant authorities did not assess the "chilling effect" such arrests would have on individuals' willingness to attend hearings.

He wrote in his ruling: "For 80 years, Congress has required federal agencies to think before they act." He also emphasized that the law clearly stipulates that "major agencies must provide at least a reasonable explanation when they embark on their chosen course."

With the judge's overturning of the policies of these two major Trump administration agencies today, the actions of the previous Biden administration are effectively restored, meaning arrests within immigration courts can only be made under specific circumstances, and the detention limit in short-term facilities is 12 hours.

Today's ruling marks the second setback for the relevant policy in two months. In May, a New York federal judge prohibited arrests in immigration courts. The New York judge's order only applied to New York, while the California ruling overturned the policy nationwide.

Following the release of the ruling, James Percival, Legal Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, posted on social media platform X, criticizing it as "blatant judicial activism that fuels an anti-American and open-border agenda."

Upon his return to the White House, Trump actively pursued the arrest of immigrants suspected of being in the U.S. illegally as part of efforts to strengthen deportation operations. Hearings across the country often concluded with the government voluntarily withdrawing cases, paving the way for plainclothes agents and Department of Homeland Security lawyers to cooperate in arresting immigrants in court corridors. (Compiled by Tsai Chia-min) 0624

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