US court bars ICE from arresting migrants at immigration courthouses

A federal judge has barred US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers from arresting migrants at immigration courthouses nationwide, blocking a controversial element of President Donald Trump's deportation crackdown.

The ruling applies across the United States and halts a practice under which ICE officers have arrested migrants in and around immigration courts, including before their legal proceedings had been completed.

Immigration courts handle cases involving migrants facing possible deportation. ICE began carrying out courthouse arrests across the country last year, a practice critics said undermined due process and discouraged migrants from attending hearings.

In the ruling, issued by a federal judge in California, the court said ICE had changed its approach at the start of Trump's second term and introduced new guidelines that highlighted the benefits of courthouse arrests for immigration enforcement.

The judge said the agency had failed to adequately address concerns about the potential negative effects of the policy or provide a reasoned explanation for the change, making the new practice legally vulnerable.