(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice notified a federal judge that it has been erroneously relying on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo to justify arrests at immigration courts, according to a new court filing.
The filing is part of an ongoing federal case in New York brought by civil rights groups challenging a policy of arresting people at immigration courts.
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday they had repeatedly cited a memo titled “2025 ICE Guidance” to defend the policy, which led to courthouse arrests nationwide.
“We write respectfully and regrettably to correct a material mistaken statement of fact that the Government made to the Court and Plaintiffs,” wrote Jay Clayton, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Clayton informed the court that ICE officials notified DOJ this week that the guidance “does not and has never applied” to civil immigration enforcement actions in or near immigration courts.
“As stated in the Guidance, it also does not apply to criminal immigration enforcement actions inside courthouses,” the memo states. “The Guidance does, however, apply to civil immigration law enforcement at or near all non-immigration courts at federal, state, and local/municipal level.”
Immigration attorneys and advocates previously told ABC News that immigration enforcement officers have been waiting in immigration court buildings and arresting migrants who have had their cases dismissed.
Deportation hearings in immigration court are legal proceedings initiated by DHS in which an immigration judge determines whether a migrant should be removed from the United States.
Often, an immigration judge will dismiss a case in order to allow the individual to pursue legal relief by seeking asylum, according to attorneys.
Several videos of migrants being detained after their cases were dismissed have gone viral on social media.
“It’s clear that it’s a coordinated campaign of fear-mongering, to put fear into our immigrant communities and undermine the constitutional right to due process,” Priscilla Olivarez, an attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Antonio, Texas, previously told ABC News.
In response to the filing, attorneys for the New York Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU said the arrests have “deprived” immigrants of their right to seek relief from removal.
“The implications of this development are far-reaching,” the groups wrote on Wednesday. “In the months since the Court relied on the government’s representation to deny Plaintiffs preliminary relief, Defendants have continued arresting noncitizens at their immigration court hearings, resulting in their detention—often in facilities hundreds of miles away.”
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement: “There is no change in policy. We will continue to arrest illegal aliens at immigration courts following their proceedings. It is commonsense to take them into custody following the completion of their removal proceedings. Nothing prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.”
ABC News’ Luke Barr contributed to this report.
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