On June 10, U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York ruled that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must stop arresting immigrants in and around New York state courthouses.

Judge Rakoff’s decision was issued in State of New York et al. v. ICE, a case in which the plaintiffs alleged that ICE courthouse arrests “make certain parties and witnesses fear coming to court, but the temporary chaos they create disrupts court proceedings and makes it impossible for judges to do their jobs effectively.” A 2019 report from the Immigration Defense Project found that in 2018, ICE made 178 courthouse arrests in New York, compared to 11 arrests made in 2016.

Advocates and lawyers in other states have likewise pushed back against ICE courthouse arrests. At the end of May, the Brennan Center filed an amicus brief on behalf of 19 former Massachusetts judges, arguing that ICE courthouse arrests undermine equal access to the courts. Other states, including Oregon, New Jersey, and California, have also taken action to prevent such arrests from taking place.