Legal Action

Plaintiffs bring this class action, on behalf of noncitizens, challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) practice of arresting noncitizens, including asylum seekers, at the San Diego Immigration Court while they attend mandatory hearings before immigration judges. Plaintiffs allege this policy is unlawful because it is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds DHS’s statutory authority, violates the Immigration and Nationality Act, and infringes constitutional protections. Plaintiffs argue that individuals who have been released from custody, deemed neither flight risks nor dangers to the community, are nevertheless targeted for arrest in violation of longstanding legal principles barring civil courthouse arrests. They seek declaratory and injunctive relief to end this practice and protect a class of similarly situated asylum seekers.