A California federal judge blocked the ability of ICE agents to arrest suspected illegal aliens at immigration courthouses as part of a series of sweeping injunctions against the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts, who was appointed by Biden in 2022, issued the 71-page opinion on Tuesday, saying the policies were vague and violated the Administrative Procedure Act, a federal statute that dictates how regulations are enacted. Pitts also said that the cap on detention time for alleged illegal aliens would be eliminated.
BREAKING: California-based federal judge Casey Pitts (Biden appointee) has just issued a nationwide injunction that blocks ICE from arresting suspected illegal immigrants at immigration courthouses. pic.twitter.com/v0ePmNRhxr
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 23, 2026
U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts blocked ICE from making arrests at immigration courts under new policies put in place last year.
— Kim "Katie" USA (@KimKatieUSA) June 24, 2026
The ruling comes after the Trump administration used an executive order to increase enforcement at these locations.
Judge Pitts previously became… pic.twitter.com/lw7LZnyhJa
According to Pitts' biography on the UC San Francisco Law website, he previously served as managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism and was the first openly LGBTQ+ person appointed to his district.
I haven't read the decision--but I do note that Judge Casey Pitts was the Editor of the Yale "Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law and Feminism."
— Andrew Branca Show (@TheBrancaShow) June 24, 2026
Not joking.
Of course, his ruling will not stand--there is no law that prohibits ICE making arrests anywhere they have a…
In the rulings, Pitts says that the new policy is "arbitrary and capricious because it is based on the false premise that ICE had validly rescinded its 2021 guidance. As discussed above, ICE’s new policies rescinding its 2021 guidance are arbitrary and capricious, and as detailed below, those policies must be vacated."
The 2021 guidance was instituted under the Biden administration to reverse the first Trump administration's explicit authorization of courthouse arrests. Courthouse arrests allow officers to conduct arrests in secure spots where suspects have already been screened, rather than deploying into residential areas. The policy prioritizes individuals whom officials consider the highest security threats.
James Percival, the DHS General Counsel, responded to the ruling in a post on X, saying, "When a judge sentences a defendant, the defendant is taken into custody. If an alien is ordered removed by an immigration judge, the same should happen. A district judge ordering otherwise is naked judicial activism in service of an anti-American, open borders agenda."
When a judge sentences a defendant, the defendant is taken into custody. If an alien is ordered removed by an immigration judge, the same should happen. A district judge ordering otherwise is naked judicial activism in service of an anti-American, open borders agenda. https://t.co/l4WIBX2giF
— James Percival (@DHSGenCounsel) June 23, 2026
Last month, a New York judge issued a similar ruling blocking immigration courthouse arrests in Manhattan. The ruling follows a trending pattern of liberal district judges usurping power to overrule federal matters.