May 19, 2026court rulingimmigration enforcementjudicial reviewdue processexecutive powerimmigrationcivil rightsjudicial review
Judge Castel blocks ICE courthouse arrests after DOJ admits directive did not apply
On May 19, 2026, Senior U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel barred ICE from making civil immigration arrests at 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick Street, and 290 Broadway while African Communities Together v. Lyons moves forward. Castel acted after Justice Department lawyers admitted in March that ICE Directive 11072.4 never authorized arrests in immigration courts, undercutting months of federal arguments. ICE agents arrested a 21-year-old Honduran man at Federal Plaza the next morning anyway, turning a courthouse-access fight into a direct test of whether DHS would obey a federal court order (NYCLU; The City; amNewYork; ICE directive text; Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse).
Sources
District Court Grants Stay Prohibiting ICE From Conducting Courthouse ArrestsFederal Judge Blocks ICE Arrests Inside NYC Immigration CourthousesImmigrant Detained in Court a Day After Judge Barred Most ICE ArrestsICE agents flout the law at Federal PlazaICE Directive 11072.4 Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions In or Near CourthousesAfrican Communities Together v. Lyons 1:25-cv-06366