Judge blocks immigration-court arrests nationwide in US
Why it matters: The ruling extends a New York order to the whole country and says the policy deterred people from showing up for hearings.
A federal judge in San Francisco barred the Trump administration from making arrests at immigration courts nationwide, striking down a policy that spread after President Donald Trump took office last year. U.S. District Judge Casey Pitts wrote that the Department of Homeland Security reversed a long-standing practice without giving a reasoned justification, violating the Administrative Procedure Act. He also said officials failed to account for the chilling effect on attendance at court hearings. The order follows a May ruling from a federal judge in New York that stopped similar arrests only in that state. Pitts also faulted officials for keeping some detainees in nearby cells beyond a 12-hour limit.