P. Kevin Castel

No public contact details available.

Open letters

Write to P.

Be the first constituent to publish an open letter to this representative.

Key Figures

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).

Justice Department lawyers admitted in a letter to U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel on March 25, 2026, that ICE had incorrectly cited a May 2025 enforcement memo to justify arresting migrants inside immigration courthouses. The memo authorized civil enforcement actions "in or near courthouses" but did not cover immigration courts, which fall under DOJ jurisdiction. Despite the admission, DHS said arrests at immigration courts would continue, stating the agency had "full authority" independent of the memo.