Does ice show up to immigration court
Executive summary
Yes — federal reporting and advocacy groups document that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been present at immigration courthouses and has arrested people leaving or near courtrooms as part of a recent enforcement tactic that pairs motions to dismiss with courthouse arrests [1] [2] [3].
1. What "show up to immigration court" looks like in practice
Observers, legal service providers, and journalists describe two linked behaviors: ICE attorneys in courtrooms seeking dismissals of immigration cases, and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers physically waiting in or around courthouses to detain people after proceedings end — sometimes immediately outside elevators or in hallways [1] [3] [2].
2. How ICE and its lawyers justify courthouse presence
ICE’s public materials state that agents sometimes arrest people outside of courtrooms and assert their mission to enforce immigration laws and public-safety priorities, framing courthouse arrests as part of locating and removing immigration violators [4] [5]. Administrative prosecutors from ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) are also the ones filing motions in court that can lead to case dismissals [6] [7].
3. The "dismiss-and-arrest" tactic and critics’ claims
Multiple legal advocacy groups, local bar associations, and press accounts say ICE OPLA has increasingly sought dismissals—then ERO officers arrested those same individuals shortly after—to transfer people into expedited removal processes with fewer protections, a pattern critics call a bait‑and‑switch that chills court participation [6] [8] [2]. Court-watching groups describe masked agents positioned to apprehend people as they exit, and advocates have filed lawsuits challenging these practices [1] [2].
4. What immigration courts and judges are doing about it
Reporting and FOIA-based analyses indicate immigration judges sometimes grant dismissal motions on the spot, which critics argue facilitates swift ICE detention; scholars and the American Immigration Council document an uptick in such dismissals and express concern about procedural irregularities and due‑process impacts [6] [8]. That said, court practices vary by venue and judges, and some judges and court staff reportedly react with dismay when enforcement occurs in their buildings [1] [8].
5. Who is at risk and what advocates recommend
Advocacy groups and know-your-rights resources warn that people who attend hearings — including those who arrived at the border and received notices to appear — can be targeted, and they advise precautions like having legal representation, reporting arrests to hotlines, and insisting on expressing fears of return if detained; organizations note lags in detainee-locator updates, complicating tracking [9] [10] [3] [11].
6. The government’s framing versus advocates’ concerns
ICE and government materials emphasize removing criminal aliens and enforcing immigration laws and acknowledge that arrests sometimes happen outside courtrooms [4] [5], while independent reporting and bar associations argue the current tactics sweep beyond serious criminals, risk denying access to asylum and other protections, and imperil trust in the judicial process [12] [8] [6]. Both frames appear in the record; available sources document the practice but do not provide nationally representative statistics in this set.
7. Bottom line and limits of available reporting
The documented answer is clear: ICE does show up at immigration courthouses and has detained people in and around court buildings, frequently tied to dismissal motions and expedited removal efforts [1] [2] [6]. Sources here establish the existence and widespread reporting of the tactic but do not supply comprehensive national data on how often court arrests occur or detailed internal ICE criteria for targeting; those gaps remain a subject of ongoing litigation and advocacy scrutiny [6] [8].