NEW YORK, CMC – Caribbean immigration advocates have condemned the Trump administration’s admission that it “erroneously” relied on a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency memo to justify arrests of Caribbean and other immigrants at immigration courthouses as part of the government’s mass detention and deportation agenda.
In a court filing on Wednesday, attorneys for the US Department of Justice (DOJ) informed US District Judge Kevin Castel that they had received an “erroneous” interpretation from a lawyer for ICE regarding a memo that gave immigration officers the power to make courthouse arrests.
The DOJ, however, conceded that the ICE memo “does not and has never applied to civil immigration enforcement actions in or near immigration courts.
But Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that, in view of the memo, immigration courthouse arrests have “ramped up.”
Awawdeh, whose umbrella policy and advocacy organization represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, said ICE has also increased arrests at “mandatory check-ins” with the agency.
“Our legal system only works when people can trust our government to uphold our laws and ensure the public safety of all its residents. But the Trump administration has shown a consistent disregard for the rule of law and an even more callous indifference to the lives of immigrants.
“Courthouses should be places of justice, not traps where people are at risk of being detained for simply showing up. We demand accountability and immediate action to restore trust in our courts, laws, and government,” Awawdeh added.
Director of immigrants’ rights litigation with the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), Amy Belsher, said in a statement that, “for over a year, ICE has claimed that a 2025 memorandum authorized and justified their devastating policy of conducting mass arrests at immigration courts.
NYCLU, which has been representing some Caribbean and other migrants in court cases, said in the “shocking revelation, the government is now admitting that this document, which the Court relied on to deny our clients relief, does not and never has authorized these courthouse arrests
She said it is yet again another example of ICE’s brazen disregard for the lives of immigrants in this country.
“It is now clearer than ever that there is no justification for ambushing and arresting people who are showing up to court,” Belsher added.
DOJ lawyers said in their court filing that they “deeply” regretted this error, and that they were “informed by ICE that the 2025 ICE Guidance applied to immigration courthouse arrests.
“In addition, we discussed with and obtained the approval of assigned ICE counsel before filing every brief in this case and making any oral representations to the Court and Plaintiffs,” they wrote.
But a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said there is no change in its policy of arresting illegal migrants at courthouses.
“We will continue to arrest illegal aliens at immigration courts following their proceedings,” the statement said. adding “nothing prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.”
Late last November, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Caribbean immigration advocates in New York welcomed a US federal judge’s dismissal of a Trump administration lawsuit challenging New York’s Protect Our Courts Act.
“Everyone deserves to seek justice without fear. This ruling ensures that anyone can use New York’s state courts without being targeted by federal authorities. My office will continue fighting to defend the dignity and rights of immigrant communities throughout New York.”
Judge Mae Avila D’Agostino in the Northern District of New York dismissed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against New York State over limits on federal immigration enforcement at state and local courts.
In 2020, New York State enacted the Protect Our Courts Act and two executive orders that prohibited US federal immigration agents from making arrests at courthouses without having a judicial warrant.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi filed the lawsuit challenging this.
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