The federal agency has been barred from carrying out civil immigration arrests in Washington, D.C., without a warrant unless it first demonstrates that an individual presents a flight risk. The ruling delivers another judicial setback to Donald Trump’s administration and its sweeping deportation strategy. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell concluded that agents had routinely violated federal law when issuing detention orders.
The court noted that the government’s position was undermined by its own statements: officials had publicly acknowledged that they were applying a lower legal standard than the law requires. In her opinion, Howell wrote: «It appears that the government’s defense amounts to the claim that the individuals behind these statements are either uninformed, incompetent, or both». She continued: «This line of defense gives new meaning to the saying “I don’t believe the words because I see the deeds”, offering instead: “don’t believe the words or the deeds—just trust whatever we say now”».
The lawsuit was filed by the advocacy group CASA, holders of Temporary Protected Status, and asylum seekers, who cited roughly 40 instances of warrantless arrests. Howell, an Obama appointee, stressed that federal agents’ actions «directly violate» the law. The Department of Homeland Security argued that a recent Supreme Court ruling—allowing stops based on reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause—should also apply to arrests, but the court rejected that claim.
Howell noted that the number of such arrests surged after the purported policy shift. According to figures cited in the ruling, the White House set a target of 3,000 ICE arrests per day, and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller urged agents to «just go out and arrest» people. The judge also referred to an analysis indicating that between August 7 and September 9, there were 943 immigration arrests in the District of Columbia.
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The plaintiffs and their attorneys said in a joint statement: «The court has affirmed that immigration agents are not above the law. Despite the Trump administration’s attempts to intimidate communities, everyone in Washington has rights, regardless of identity or immigration status, and federal agents are bound to respect those rights». The Department of Homeland Security and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.