FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 25, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Raya Steier, c: 530-723-2426, rsteier@lccrsf.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a stay, pausing the Trump administration’s policies enabling the widescale arrest of immigrants at immigration courthouses within the jurisdiction of ICE’s San Francisco Field Office. Judge Casey Pitts’s order addresses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) policies, finding they likely violate the Administrative Procedure Act. 

The order stems from Pablo Sequen v. Albarran, a class action lawsuit  which challenges policies enacted by the Trump administration in January 2025 that abruptly reversed a decades-long bipartisan practice of treating courthouses–and immigration courthouses in particular–as sensitive locations. The court found the change was made without a reasoned explanation, likely violating the Administrative Procedure Act, and has created a severe chilling effect on access to justice. 

The administration’s policy has forced immigrants to choose between attending mandatory hearings and risking arrest or missing court and facing an automatic deportation order. This untenable choice has led to a surge in absenteeism, undermining the integrity of the entire immigration court system.

In a 38-page order, Judge Pitts highlighted how the Trump administration’s abrupt reversal of a long-standing practice failed to consider its profound consequences, stating that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that the ICE policy is “arbitrary and capricious,” in part because this policy ignores “that widespread civil arrests at immigration courts could have a chilling effect on noncitizens’ attendance at removal proceedings (as common sense, the prior guidance, and the actual experience in immigration court since May 2025 make clear).” Likewise, the Court found that EOIR likely failed to reckon with the chilling effect of courthouse arrests on court attendance and how that undermines the proper functioning of the immigration system. 

This ruling follows a separate victory in the same case. On November 25, 2025, the court granted a preliminary injunction requiring ICE to remedy unconstitutional conditions in the short-term holding cells at its San Francisco Field Office on 630 Sansome Street, where plaintiffs were detained in unsafe, inhumane and ill-equipped facilities.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area (LCCRSF), the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California (ACLU NorCal), the Central American Resource Center of Northern California (CARECEN SF), and Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP.

Class Plaintiff Quote: 

“I fled persecution to seek safety, only to find myself arrested in the courthouse, the one place I was told to trust. The terror of that day has haunted me. This decision means I can finally focus on my asylum case, not on the ICE officers who might be waiting for me outside the courtroom door,” said Carmen Pablo Sequen, class plaintiff.

Attorney Quotes: 

“The administration’s reckless policy is an affront to justice, designed to sabotage the immigration court system and force people to abandon their lawful claims,” said Jordan Wells, Senior Staff Attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, who argued the motion. “This ruling is a critical step in ensuring that immigrants can safely pursue their immigration cases without fear of arrest.”

“For our clients, who are asylum seekers, survivors of violence, parents fighting to stay with their children, this ruling begins to lift a cloud of terror. They can now walk into court, not as targets, but as people lawfully pursuing their cases. This stay is a profound affirmation of their humanity and their right to be heard,” said Laura Sanchez, Legal Director at the Central American Resource Center of Northern California.

“This victory is for the three class representatives who endured the trauma of arrest or near arrest simply for following the law. Their courage in standing up to this cruel policy will protect thousands of people with upcoming immigration court dates to pursue their asylum and immigration cases without the looming threat of detention.” said Neil Sawhney, Director of Appellate Advocacy at ACLU of Northern California.

“Immigrants can breathe easier as they prepare for their next court dates. But this is a pause, not the end. We are committed to making this victory permanent and expanding it across the country, ensuring that courthouses remain accessible venues for people to lawfully present their cases, not sites of fear,” said Mark Hejinian, Partner at Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP. 

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