Immigration advocates have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging a coordinated campaign by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Justice to dismiss immigration court cases and immediately deport immigrants without judicial review. Filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., the lawsuit seeks class-action status on behalf of 12 immigrants who had active asylum or relief cases but were arrested after court dismissals and placed into expedited removal.
The suit, brought by the National Immigrant Justice Center, Democracy Forward, RAICES, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, alleges that the administration is using policy changes to undermine due process. Plaintiffs allege ICE is carrying out civil arrests inside immigration courts and detaining individuals even if their cases are ongoing or under appeal.
One plaintiff, a Cuban asylum-seeker known as E.C., was arrested outside his hearing in Miami and relocated to detention in Tacoma, Washington, far from his U.S. citizen wife. Another plaintiff, M.K. from Liberia, required hospitalization after ICE arrested her at court following a dismissal she did not fully understand due to language barriers. A Venezuelan plaintiff, L.H., was similarly detained in Ohio after her case was dismissed.
The lawsuit argues these arrests are unconstitutional and part of a broader strategy to accelerate deportations. Advocates say the impact has been “severe,” disrupting families and denying immigrants the ability to fairly present their cases.
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