Arresting Immigrants Appearing for Immigration Court Hearings Undermines Integrity of the Justice System

WASHINGTON, DC – Members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) are reporting a disturbing rise in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests at immigration courts across the country. AILA President Kelli Stump, responded to the reports:

“This is a flagrant betrayal of basic fairness and due process. Let’s be clear: people are following the rules by appearing in immigration court as they promised when released from custody, doing exactly what the system demands of them, only to be targeted, arrested, and detained because the government has changed its mind on detention. Immigration courts are being weaponized, judges are coordinating with ICE to dismiss cases and immediately funnel individuals into the fast-track deportation pipeline known as expedited removal. These are not fugitives. They are individuals, many who are seeking protection from torture in their countries, complying with the law.

“People who have been following the court rules, including those without legal representation, are being arrested outside courtrooms. One report described a mother taken into custody outside the Baltimore court while holding her days-old infant. This is not law enforcement. This is cruelty disguised as policy. This tactic is not only morally wrong, it’s self-defeating. If the goal is court compliance, these tactics achieve the opposite: they terrify people away from the very process they’re supposed to trust, undermining the rule of law at its foundation.

“This is a corruption of our immigration courts, transforming them from forums of justice into cogs in a mass deportation apparatus. The expansion of expedited removal strips more people of their right to a hearing before a judge—as our laws promise.

“These arrests are undermining core American values of fairness, integrity, and justice. We need bipartisan solutions that build a functional, humane immigration system—not tear it apart. The courts must be a place where justice is pursued, not perverted.”