ICE Courthouse Arrests Spark Class Action Over Due Process Violations
Federal lawsuit targets a wave of arrests and removals bypassing formal hearings, calling it a threat to immigration court integrity.
WASHNIGTON — Two immigration advocacy organizations filed a proposed class action lawsuit last week against multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The lawsuit challenges recent immigration enforcement policies that plaintiffs allege obstruct justice, violate due process, and unlawfully expedite the deportation of noncitizens.
The suit, brought by Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative and American Gateways, centers on ICE’s revived practice of arresting individuals at or near immigration courthouses and DHS's guidance allowing for the expedited removal of noncitizens—without notice, consent, or opportunity for full removal proceedings.
Chilling Effect and Courtroom Raids
Plaintiffs argue that longstanding DHS and EOIR policies—formalized between 2021 and 2023—had strictly limited courthouse enforcement actions to exceptional circumstances, such as threats to public safety or national security. These policies were explicitly designed to prevent intimidation, ensure due process, and avoid deterring attendance at immigration hearings.
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However, between January and May 2025, those protections were rescinded through a series of memoranda and regulatory shifts. As a result, ICE agents were granted broad discretion to surveil, arrest, and detain not only hearing respondents but also family members and witnesses at immigration courts nationwide. These new policies, according to the complaint, “have created a climate of fear, discouraging appearance in court and undermining the fairness of immigration adjudications” .
The lawsuit points to numerous arrests where individuals were detained during routine court appearances and immediately placed in expedited removal without access to counsel or asylum relief mechanisms.
Expedited Removal Replaces Full Proceedings
In May 2025, DHS instructed its attorneys to dismiss certain cases from the 8 U.S.C. § 1229a full removal docket and instead refer noncitizens to expedited removal proceedings. This policy shift, plaintiffs argue, unlawfully circumvents protections granted in full removal processes—such as the opportunity to apply for asylum, adjustment of status, or cancellation of removal.
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Critically, the new guidance allows DHS to request dismissal of cases orally and without the standard 10-day response period, documentation, or consent of the respondent. ICE is also notified of these dismissals two days prior to hearing dates, facilitating arrests during court appearances .
The complaint alleges that this dual-track system—dismissing full proceedings while initiating expedited removal—violates the statutory structure of U.S. immigration law, which designates § 1229a proceedings as the “sole and exclusive” adjudication process for most removal cases.
Allegations of Unlawful Use of Expedited Removal
Plaintiffs further assert that the government has unlawfully applied expedited removal procedures to noncitizens who have resided in the United States for more than two years—a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which restricts expedited removal to individuals present in the U.S. for less than that timeframe.
“Respondents have been abruptly ripped from their families, homes, and lives for simply appearing in court,” the complaint states, describing the combined impact of ICE's courthouse arrest policy and the DHS expedited removal directive as a “systematic subversion of due process” .
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Scope and Relief Sought
The lawsuit seeks class certification for:
All noncitizens who were or will be arrested in civil immigration enforcement actions at or near an immigration courthouse on the date of their hearing after January 21, 2025.
All noncitizens whose full removal proceedings were or will be dismissed without their consent on or after May 20, 2025 .
The plaintiffs are asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to enjoin the courthouse arrest policy, invalidate the expedited removal guidance, and restore procedural protections in immigration court. The case is Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative et al. v. United States Department of Justice et al., No. 1:25-cv-02401 (D.D.C. filed July 24, 2025).
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