In a sweeping and decisive ruling, a federal judge in San Jose has dismantled a controversial Trump administration policy that permitted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to conduct mass arrests inside U.S. immigration courthouses — a practice critics decried as intimidating vulnerable asylum seekers at their most vulnerable moments.

U.S. District Court Judge P. Casey Pitts issued the order Tuesday, immediately requiring ICE to scale back its presence in courthouses across the country. The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by two asylum seekers — Carmen Aracely Pablo Sequen from Guatemala and Ligia Garcia from Colombia — who were arrested by ICE agents right after leaving their hearings in San Francisco.

The plaintiffs were represented by a coalition including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the Central American Resource Center, and Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP.

This ruling strikes at the heart of one of the administration’s more aggressive immigration enforcement tactics, which allowed agents to target individuals inside or near courthouses — spaces traditionally seen as sanctuaries for due process. By throwing out the policy, Judge Pitts has sent a clear message that such operations undermine the fairness of the immigration system and intimidate those seeking legal protection.

For thousands of asylum seekers and immigrants navigating the complex U.S. legal process, this decision offers a significant reprieve and restores a sense of safety to court proceedings. However, it also highlights the ongoing tension between aggressive enforcement and basic due process rights, a battle that is likely to continue playing out in courtrooms nationwide.

As the Trump administration’s broader immigration agenda faces legal pushback, this victory for civil rights groups could set an important precedent — protecting the integrity of immigration hearings and ensuring that justice isn’t derailed by fear of immediate detention.