ICE arrested two immigrants at New York City immigration courts in defiance of federal court orders, including a June 23 nationwide ban
On June 26, 2026, ICE agents arrested two immigrants at New York City immigration courts in what lawyers described as the first serious violations of two federal court orders barring such arrests: a May 18 order from the Southern District of New York covering three Manhattan courts, and a June 23 nationwide order from a federal court in California. Agents arrested an Ecuadorian man at 26 Federal Plaza and a Dominican man at 290 Broadway; both were transferred to out-of-state detention facilities. ICE denied violating any court order but provided no explanation of how the arrests fit the narrow exceptions permitted by the judges.
Part of: ICE Defiance of Federal Court Orders
Actors
On June 26, 2026, ICE agents arrested two immigrants at New York City immigration courts in what lawyers described as the first serious violations of two active federal court orders prohibiting such arrests. Agents arrested an Ecuadorian man at the immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza and a Dominican man at the court at 290 Broadway, both in Lower Manhattan. Both men were subsequently transferred to detention facilities in other states.
The arrests came in defiance of two court orders: a May 18, 2026 order from U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel in the Southern District of New York barring ICE from making arrests at three Manhattan immigration courts except in a narrow set of circumstances, and a June 23, 2026 nationwide order from a federal court in California extending that prohibition broadly. Make the Road New York filed habeas corpus petitions on behalf of both men, arguing that ICE had violated both due process rights and the court order. An ICE spokesperson denied any violation but offered no explanation of how the arrests fit the exceptions permitted by the orders.
Representative Dan Goldman (D-NY) said ICE was "flagrantly violating the law." Both men had appeared voluntarily in compliance with their mandatory immigration hearing schedules. From May 18 through June 25, just two arrests had occurred at Manhattan immigration courts, with both detainees swiftly released after advocates invoked the court order; the two men arrested on June 26 were transferred to distant facilities and not quickly released.
Why we recorded this
Federal court orders carry binding legal authority; when executive agencies defy them repeatedly, it establishes that the executive treats judicial authority over its enforcement conduct as optional. A federal court had barred ICE from arresting immigrants at Manhattan immigration courts except in narrow circumstances; a California court extended that protection nationwide on June 23, 2026. These two arrests — of people attending mandatory hearings, both transferred to distant detention facilities — add to a documented pattern of ICE treating court orders as advisory. This archive records each violation to establish the scope and frequency of the agency's defiance.
Sources
- ICE Arrests Immigrants at New York Courts, Flouting Federal Judge Order — The Intercept primary accessed July 1, 2026
See also
- ICE deports Adelanto hunger-strike organizer Kyon Swaso to Belize after no-notice out-of-state transfers
- ICE arrested Guatemalan man at New York City immigration court in defiance of federal court orders, including a June 23 nationwide ban
- ICE officer Travis Erdman defied federal court order protecting Iowa student-visa holder; judge found civil contempt
- ICE re-arrests El Gamal family at first check-in, attempts deportation in defiance of federal release order
- ICE flew a 2-year-old and her father to Texas despite a court order to release the toddler