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Mamdani backs ruling limiting ICE courthouse arrests in NY
The temporary relief came in the form of a stay granted by Judge Kevin Castel after a nearly yearlong legal battle.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Wed, 20, May 2026
- 03:37 EDT
- 20
Zohran Mamdani / X/@ZohranKMamdani
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has welcomed the recent federal court ruling that blocks U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from arresting individuals at immigration courthouses in Manhattan, marking it as a decision against “ICE’s cruelty.”
The temporary relief came in the form of a stay granted by Judge Kevin Castel on May 19 and comes after a nearly yearlong legal fight over arrests inside immigration courthouses.
The state’s immigration courthouses for years have stood as fertile ground for easily arresting immigrants who do not have the necessary paperwork to be in the country, a move many in the Trump administration defend as merely arresting immigrants in the country illegally as and when they are found.
The order bars ICE from targeting most immigrants for arrest inside courts at 26 Federal Plaza, 201 Varick St. and 290 Broadway. However, the stay order also provides for the arrest of individuals at courthouses in extenuating circumstances involving public safety or national security.
Hailing the order as a “victory for New York’s immigrant communities,” Mamdani noted that the ruling would ensure immigrant communities do not fear detention while seeking justice or following the law.
Mamdani said, “These courthouse enforcement tactics spread fear and undermined trust in our legal system. Yesterday’s decision restores accountability and makes clear that our courts cannot be used as tools of intimidation.”
He continued, “New York City will continue standing with immigrant New Yorkers in the face of ICE’s cruelty.”
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Castel’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union, Make the Road NY and other groups.
The May 19 order came after U.S. government lawyers in March 2026 informed the court that they had previously provided incorrect information regarding ICE courthouse arrest policies.
They acknowledged that a 2025 ICE guidance memo cited in earlier arguments never actually applied to immigration court arrests, despite attorneys being repeatedly told by ICE officials that it did.
In light of this, the court ruled, “The January 21, 2025 interim guidance and the May 27, 2025 final guidance of the then-Acting Directors of ICE are STAYED insofar as they rescinded the interim guidance on Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions in or near Courthouses, issued on April 27, 2021, as it applied to civil enforcement actions in or near immigration courthouses.”
Highlighting the motivation behind the order, the judge said in his ruling, “The public interest also favors the stay pending final adjudication because it prevents the arbitrary and capricious rescission of the April 2021 Policy as it applies to immigration courts.”
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