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Number of lawsuits against ice
Executive summary
There is no single, authoritative count of “the number of lawsuits against ICE” in the available reporting; recent coverage documents multiple, distinct lawsuits and at least several class actions nationwide challenging ICE practices — including lawsuits over courthouse arrests, detention‑center conditions, legal‑mail policies, holding‑cell practices, and Indigenous facility claims (examples: courthouse arrests suits, California City and Broadview conditions suits, Batavia mail suit) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. Major organizations such as the ACLU, National Immigrant Justice Center, and immigrant‑rights groups are repeatedly named as plaintiffs or co‑counsel in these matters [6] [1] [7].
1. What reporting documents: multiple, concurrent lawsuits — not a single tally
News outlets and advocacy groups describe a stream of separate lawsuits targeting different ICE policies or local facilities rather than one consolidated case list; examples in recent months include class actions over arrests at immigration courts, suits over inhumane conditions at newly opened detention centers (California City, Broadview), litigation over holding‑cell practices in Baltimore, and claims about mail searches at the Batavia facility [1] [2] [3] [7] [4]. The New York Times notes at least five lawsuits challenging ICE practices in major cities while other outlets report distinct local and national filings [8] [9].
2. Types of litigation documented in reporting
Reporting groups the lawsuits into several recurring categories: (a) constitutional and due‑process challenges to arrests at immigration courts and removals [1] [9], (b) class‑action and conditions suits alleging medical neglect, hunger, and overcrowding in converted prisons such as California City and Broadview [2] [5] [3], (c) civil‑rights suits over detention practices such as prolonged use of holding cells [7], and (d) challenges to facility policies that interfere with counsel or legal mail (Batavia First Amendment suit) [4]. Each category involves different plaintiffs, defendants, and legal theories [1] [2] [4] [7].
3. Who is bringing these suits — and who defends ICE
Nonprofit legal groups (ACLU affiliates, National Immigrant Justice Center, American Immigration Council, Prison Law Office, and regional immigrant‑rights centers) repeatedly appear as plaintiffs’ counsel in the reporting, often filing class actions on behalf of detainees or communities [6] [1] [5] [9]. Government responses in the articles quote DHS or ICE spokespersons defending detention medical care and due process, and private prison operators such as GEO or CoreCivic figure in cases against facility operators [2] [10] [5].
4. Recent, high‑profile examples you can point to
Reporting provides concrete recent examples: a class action challenging arrests at immigration courthouses filed by immigrant advocates (described by the National Immigrant Justice Center) [1]; a federal class‑action complaint by seven detainees alleging life‑threatening medical neglect at the California City conversion (Guardian/CalMatters coverage) [2] [5]; an emergency proposed class action over Broadview, Illinois facility conditions (ABC7 Chicago) [3]; and litigation over Batavia mail‑inspection practices alleging First Amendment violations (Investigative Post) [4]. The American Immigration Council and LatinoJustice also sued for FOIA records about court arrests [9].
5. What the numbers reporting does (and does not) show
Some outlets provide counts for related metrics — e.g., NPR tallied at least 20 deaths in ICE custody in 2025 and that ICE was holding nearly 60,000 people at one point — but these are operational or mortality counts, not counts of lawsuits [11]. The New York Times explicitly references “at least five” lawsuits challenging ICE practices in one context [8]. However, none of the supplied sources attempt a comprehensive national tally of all pending suits against ICE; available sources do not mention a definitive nationwide lawsuit count [1] [2] [8] [6] [5].
6. Why compiling a single number is hard — and what a reader should watch for
Legal fragmentation (local federal suits, national class actions, state claims, FOIA actions, and suits naming private contractors) means cases are filed in many districts and under different statutes; organizations commonly file overlapping class claims and FOIAs as separate actions, so simple aggregation risks double‑counting related suits [6] [9] [5]. To build a credible total you would need systematic searches of federal dockets, state court filings, and press releases from advocacy groups and ICE — none of which the supplied reporting attempts in aggregate [6] [9]. Available sources do not mention a centralized count.
7. Bottom line for your original query
If you want a defensible number, consult federal docket databases (PACER) and major civil‑rights organizations’ litigation pages and then reconcile duplicates; the current reporting documents multiple contemporaneous lawsuits against ICE across categories and jurisdictions but does not provide a single comprehensive count — available sources do not mention a definitive nationwide number [1] [2] [8] [6] [5] [9].