ICE is cutting back on cuffing immigrants in courthouses and warrantless arrests: report
Source: The Independent
Thursday 23 April 2026 12:14 EDT
Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly instructed immigration enforcement officers to cut back on arrests inside courthouses and to no longer enter homes without a warrant, backing off two controversial policies that have sparked violent and chaotic scenes in the president's mass deportation campaign.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices across the country were verbally instructed by their superiors that they should no longer enter homes unless they have a judicial warrant, two Homeland Security officials told NBC News. Last year, ICE’s then-acting director Todd Lyons told officers to rely on the agency’s own permissions to enter a person’s home — rather than seek a warrant from a judge. Homeland Security then issued a lengthy press release defending the policy.
ICE’s alleged instructions also led to a sharp drop in the number of arrests inside immigration courthouses. Last month, a top federal prosecutor admitted that the government was wrongly relying on policy that didn’t exist to let agents cuff thousands of immigrants the moment they left their hearings, The Independent previously reported.
After widespread opposition from lawyers, judges and members of Congress, ICE now appears to be ending those arrests entirely. Unlike federal courts, immigration courts and the judges who run them operate under the control of the Department of Justice and, ultimately, the president.
Read more: https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/ice-courthouse-arrests-warrant-policy-b2963648.html
Just today, Philly's City Council passed what the dub, one of the most comprehensive packages of anti-ICE legislation in the country.
Marco Cerino TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 4 hrs ago
Progressives and immigrant-rights activists hailed a major victory Thursday after City Council overwhelmingly approved legislation restricting the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Four measures from the seven-bill “ICE Out” legislative package passed by a 16-1 vote. Two additional bills passed 15-2, while one measure expanding the city’s anti-discrimination protections was approved unanimously.
Republican Councilmember Brian O’Neill opposed six of the ICE-related bills and cast the lone “no” vote on four of the measures. Councilmember Mike Driscoll provided two additional dissenting votes. Minority Leader Kendra Brooks, one of the initiative’s two lead sponsors, said the legislation was shaped through months of collaboration with grassroots organizations.
“This legislation grew out of months of deep partnership between our offices and dozens of community organizations who wanted to see Philly government take action on the violence and fear that ICE has brought to our communities,” Brooks said. She credited residents who attended trainings, displayed anti-ICE signage and signed petitions supporting the proposals.
Advocates said momentum increased earlier this year following the deaths of two U.S. citizens during encounters with ICE agents in Minnesota.
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