Caribbean immigration advocates in New York on Thursday, March 26, 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 President Trump’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, a senior judge on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), that they had been given an “erroneous” interpretation by a lawyer for ICE about 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 CEO of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York — told Caribbean Life that, in view of the memo, immigration courthouse arrests have “ramped up.”
Awawdeh 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,” he said. “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,” Awawdeh added. “We demand accountability and immediate action to restore trust in our courts, laws, and government.”
Amy Belsher, director of immigrants’ rights litigation with the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), which has been representing some Caribbean and other migrants in court cases, 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.
“In today’s 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 courthouses 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 court houses.
“We will continue to arrest illegal aliens at immigration courts following their proceedings,” the statement said. “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,” James told Caribbean Life. “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.
The lawsuit challenging this was filed by US Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In 2020, Attorney General James had secured a landmark ruling preventing the first Trump administration from conducting civil immigration arrests in and around New York courthouses.
Later that year, New York codified those protections by enacting the Protect Our Courts Act.
In June 2025, the DOJ sought to strike down the law, but the US District Court for the Northern District of New York dismissed the lawsuit, holding that nothing in federal immigration law preempts New York’s authority to safeguard access to its courts.
“When ICE agency arrests people who show up for their court cases, it disincentivizes people from following the legal processes set forth in our country,” Awawdeh said. “Courthouses must be a place of justice, not a trap used to terrorize and disappear immigrant New Yorkers.
“Judge D’Agostino’s ruling is an important step towards maintaining the integrity of local and state courts in New York,” he added. “New York must further its commitment to the safety of all New Yorkers by passing the New York For All Act, and the federal government must stop its unlawful detentions of New Yorkers at federal immigration courts throughout the state.”
