ICE steps up migrant arrests in courtrooms across U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — often dressed in plainclothes — are now arresting immigrants at courthouses nationwide, sometimes moments after their hearings end.Why it matters: The courthouse crackdown is part of a sweeping Trump administration effort to fast-track removals and increase the number of deportations this year — a strategy that's dramatically expanding who gets targeted and how.The big picture: The recent ramp-up follows a January policy shift that authorizes ICE to target courthouses for the first time in years — a move advocates say is quietly upending the legal process for immigrants.Under the Biden administration, ICE was not allowed to conduct enforcement operations at or near courthouses.What they're saying: "ICE is now following the law" and placing immigrants in expedited removal, "as they always should have been," a senior Homeland Security spokesperson told Axios.Immigrant activists describe it as a trap, warning that courthouses are becoming enforcement zones where due process rights are eroding.How it works: An immigration court that dismisses the case — often because the Department of Homeland Security withdraws the charges or because the applicant has no active relief from removal — opens the door for ICE to swoop in post-dismissal, no longer restrained by a pending court case.These immigrants, if they've been in the U.S. for less than two years, are then arrested on-site and fast-tracked for deportation.Failure to appear at court results in a removal order called an "in absentia" deportation order.Driving the news: Under a February executive order from President Trump, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now defaulting to issuing Notices to Appear (NTAs) for anyone denied an immigration benefit — including asylum, green cards and work permits.The policy change increased the number of NTAs issued by the agency compared to under the Biden administration. ICE and Customs and Border Protection also issue NTAs.Someone denied a visa extension can now be swept into removal proceedings, even without a criminal record. NTAs are also being issued to immigrants who commit fraud, including giving false information to an employer. State of play: The policy shift has supercharged the deportation pipeline and contributed to a surge of courthouse arrests across the country.By the numbers: Federal immigration authorities have launched deportation proceedings against more than 22,100 immigrants since late February, according to new USCIS data out Thursday.USCIS is now issuing about 1,840 NTAs every week, including hundreds tied to asylum and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) cases, per new agency figures.Zoom in: In recent weeks, ICE officers have ramped up arrests in immigration courts in numerous cities, from Seattle and Phoenix to San Antonio and New York City.At Denver's immigration court, for example, at least eight immigrants — including two young children — have been detained by ICE in the last two weeks, according to local organizers.What they're saying: Denver activists say the arrests are fueling fear and signal a collapse of due process."The truth here is that the jackboots of ICE are terrorizing immigrant communities that are trying to take advantage of the due process of law that they are entitled to," Denver immigration attorney Hans Meyer said at a press conference last week.Now immigrants are "questioning if the legal way is really the right way," Jennifer Piper, the American Friends Service Committee's Denver program director, added.What we're watching: With ICE under pressure to triple daily detainments to 3,000, advocates warn more arrests in sensitive locations, including courthouses, are coming.

Comments

World news

'It will only get worse': Trump warns next round of Israeli strikes on Iran will be 'more brutal'

washington times

Comments

Similar News

Man arrested for handing out face shields to LA protesters - as ICE agents wear masks to cover their identities

Ramming cars and raiding churches: The ways ICE is becoming more aggressive in arresting migrants

Mark Carney, Danielle Smith won’t be watching Oilers battle Panthers on home ice this weekend

‘Snatching off the streets’: Ice targets churches, car washes and workplaces

LA man faces 8 years in prison for ‘spitting at an ICE agent’ after being charged with assaulting a federal employee

Newsom calls Trump a ‘stone cold liar’ as LA protests against Ice raids continue

Why anti-ICE protests are spreading across the US

Man ‘fitting the general description’ of someone wanted by ICE arrested at courthouse. It turned out to be a US Marshal

Mapped: the 37 cities where anti-ICE protests have erupted across the US

Families arrested in LA Ice raids held in basements with little food or water, lawyers say | First Thing

Noem asks Hegseth to exceed Trump’s order and force the military to arrest LA citizens to protect ICE agents

Barron Trump’s friend Bo Loudon claims he got ICE to detain TikTok star Khaby Lame

ICE is using a tracking app to identify people who can easily be deported – then arrest them

Stephen Miller meeting with ICE officials was the spark for LA protests and National Guard call-up: report

ICE slammed for overspending amid ‘egregious’ funding mismanagement in House report

Mapped: the 37 cities where anti-ICE protests have erupted across the US

Protests over Trump’s ICE raids continue spreading to other major cities

Eerie silence hangs over Central Coast farm fields in wake of ICE raids

Fears of ICE raids upend life in L.A. County, from schools to Home Depot parking lots

ICE expands immigration raids into California's agricultural heartland

World news

'It will only get worse': Trump warns next round of Israeli strikes on Iran will be 'more brutal'

Air India's sole crash survivor narrates his escape

Activists stopped in Libya and Egypt ahead of planned march on Gaza

Air India crash: The 4 main theories for what caused disaster that left hundreds dead

Gibraltar deal risks emboldening Argentina Falklands plot, warns Simon Weston

Inside Trump and Pentagon’s plan to take Greenland by force - ‘we’ll do it if necessary’

'I'm stranded in Israel by the strikes on Iran but want to get home to Ukraine'

Israel's strike on Iran and the four outcomes Benjamin Netanyahu just gambled on

Israel's Iran strikes could have knock-on effect for Putin and North Korea

Austrian school shooter shared chilling selfie before massacring 10 in classrooms

Air India plane crash investigators make huge announcement about search

'I was on the Air India plane hours before it crashed – I noticed something unusual'

Israel's Iran strike is 'most dangerous yet' – why that's humiliating for Trump

Trump demands a ‘Thank You’ from Newsom after appeals court delays bid to boot military from Los Angeles

Why anti-ICE protests are spreading across the US

Middle school teacher found guilty of giving marijuana-laced brownies to sixth graders

Long-distance stray: Cat stows away in shipping container from China to Minnesota for three-week journey

Why Israel and Iran’s escalation is unprecedented – and what it means for a teetering Middle East

Who were the top Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists killed by Israel?

Israel-Iran: A timeline of hostilities between the two nations as tensions rise in the Middle East

Disorder breaks out at New Jersey immigration detention center

Passenger on Air India plane shares video of ‘nothing working’ hours before crash

Why is Israel attacking Iran? Tensions in the Middle East escalate

Army aims to build, repair drones 'in-house' as 3D-printing revolution accelerates

I've flown with Air India 20 times - it's often chaos but their planes are safe

Israel strikes on Iran could have a surprise side effect – and it's good for Ukraine

Trump breaks silence on Israel-Iran strikes: 'They're all dead now'

Sea turns red with blood as dozens of dolphins slaughtered to death in hunt

Insane moment Ukraine Air Force wipes out Russian positions in ruthless bombing attack

Meta sues deepfake ‘nudify’ app which uses AI to remove clothing from photos

Florida sheriff warns protesters ahead of nationwide rallies: ‘We will kill you dead’

Nightclub owner arrested following deadly roof collapse which killed 236 people

Pope confirms when millennial saint Carlo Acutis will be canonised

Mapped: the 40 cities where anti-ICE protests have erupted across the US

Calls grow for Kristi Noem to resign in the wake of Padilla incident

What to know about Israel's major attack on Iran

Diddy trial live: New witness to take stand after ‘Jane’ ends testimony on Vegas trip with mystery rapper

Air India flight forced into emergency landing after bomb threat

OPINION - Israel's strike on Iran will have perilous consequences for us all

Mongolia gets a new prime minister who pledged to address the economic demands of protesters

First millennial saint Carlo Acutis will be canonized Sept. 7, the pope says

Earthquakes damage centuries-old monasteries in a secluded religious community in Greece

Legion of Christ priest arrested in Mexico City airport on rape charge for alleged abuse of a minor

North Korea says repaired destroyer has launched, a claim met with outside skepticism

What to know about Iran's nuclear sites

What to know about the Group of Seven summit in Canada that Trump will attend

More great whites are visiting N.S. beaches. Is it time for a shark warning system like Cape Cod's?

Landlords to make £750m profits from taxpayer for housing asylum seekers

Trump’s humiliation is complete – his strongman image is in tatters

I am battling a bout of gout – it’s no joke

Trooping the Colour 2025: Full route, timings, how to watch and which royals will attend

Why has Israel attacked Iran? Understand the conflict in three minutes

I miss being able to run back to my parents’ home when life goes tits-up

Yung Filly faces further sexual assault charges in Australia

Who were the Iranian military chiefs and nuclear scientists killed by Israel?

Only survivor of Air India plane crash thought he was 'going to die'

It might rain on President Trump's parade