Biden-Appointed Judge Ripped After Blocking ICE Arrests at Immigration Courts

A California federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden drew backlash Tuesday evening after issuing a nationwide injunction blocking Trump administration policies that allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests at immigration courthouses and expanded the amount of time immigration detainees can be held in short-term detention facilities.

U.S. District Judge P. Casey Pitts of the Northern District of California ruled that the policies violated the Administrative Procedure Act because federal agencies failed to adequately explain their decision to abandon earlier restrictions on courthouse arrests and detention practices. Pitts vacated the policies nationwide in a 71-page opinion.

The ruling prompted sharp criticism from administration officials and conservative legal figures, who accused the judge of interfering with immigration enforcement.

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Pitts, who was appointed by Biden in 2022, concluded that both ICE and the Executive Office for Immigration Review failed to provide adequate justification for rescinding prior policies that restricted immigration arrests at courthouses and immigration courts.

The practice of arresting migrants at immigration courts expanded significantly after DHS updated its policy last year and allows ICE agents to take individuals into custody when they appear before immigration judges. Immigration advocates and Democratic lawmakers have argued the tactic discourages migrants from attending court proceedings and undermines confidence in the immigration system.

Pitts sided with those concerns, writing that ICE failed to address the rationale behind earlier guidance that warned courthouse arrests could chill attendance at hearings and impede access to justice. The judge found the agencies had not provided a “rational explanation” for removing those restrictions.

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The ruling additionally struck down a separate ICE policy that waived the agency’s long-standing 12-hour limit on detention in short-term holding facilities. The June 2025 waiver allowed detainees to remain in holding facilities for up to 72 hours, and longer in exceptional circumstances, due to increased enforcement operations and a shortage of detention space.

Pitts found the policy unlawful, concluding ICE failed to adequately consider alternatives to extended detention and did not address whether facilities designed for short-term confinement were suitable for overnight or multiday detention. The opinion noted that some detainees in San Francisco were held overnight or for several days in facilities originally intended for short-term processing.

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