Overview

• Judge Dale E. Ho found that ICE’s practice of arresting immigrants immediately after their immigration-court hearings violates the Fifth Amendment and ordered asylum seeker Carlos Javier Lopez Benitez released
• Ho’s opinion characterizes the courthouse arrests as arbitrary “detention roulette,” citing an internal ICE memo that suggests millions could be swept up in the same campaign
• The government told the court it could not confirm a formal policy but maintained its authority to categorically detain undocumented immigrants believed to have entered unlawfully
• This decision is the latest in a series of federal court injunctions and appellate battles challenging expedited removals and courthouse arrests rolled out since May 2025
• Advocates and some judges link the high-volume enforcement push to internal DHS and ICE directives, including alleged arrest quotas and bond-hearing restrictions, sparking ongoing due-process lawsuits