Late on 2 December, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell issued a preliminary injunction stopping Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from carrying out civil immigration arrests in the nation’s capital without a judicial or administrative warrant and without specific evidence the person is a flight risk. The order comes in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and local advocacy groups, who documented traffic-stop checkpoints and sidewalk sweeps targeting Latino communities.
Judge Howell found ‘substantial evidence of a systemic practice’ of arrests that ignored INA probable-cause standards and DHS’s own regulations. The ruling requires agents to document and share with plaintiffs’ counsel the facts supporting any future warrantless arrest in D.C., effectively creating court-monitored oversight of local ICE operations.
![Federal judge bars warrantless ICE sweeps in Washington, D.C.]()
For employers, the injunction reduces the risk that foreign workers commuting in the capital will be detained during routine activities. However, the decision is limited geographically and does not block work-site raids or arrests executed with administrative warrants. DHS may appeal to the D.C. Circuit; in similar Colorado and California cases the government lost at the district level but won partial relief on appeal.
The ruling adds legal complexity for corporate security teams planning emergency response protocols for employees who may be stopped by federal agents on public streets. Counsel should update know-your-rights materials and ensure hotline numbers are active.
Practical tip: Until the appeal is resolved, advise foreign nationals in D.C. to carry copies of identity documents and, if questioned by ICE, to ask politely whether they are free to leave and whether the officer has a warrant signed by a judge.
Judge Howell found ‘substantial evidence of a systemic practice’ of arrests that ignored INA probable-cause standards and DHS’s own regulations. The ruling requires agents to document and share with plaintiffs’ counsel the facts supporting any future warrantless arrest in D.C., effectively creating court-monitored oversight of local ICE operations.
For employers, the injunction reduces the risk that foreign workers commuting in the capital will be detained during routine activities. However, the decision is limited geographically and does not block work-site raids or arrests executed with administrative warrants. DHS may appeal to the D.C. Circuit; in similar Colorado and California cases the government lost at the district level but won partial relief on appeal.
The ruling adds legal complexity for corporate security teams planning emergency response protocols for employees who may be stopped by federal agents on public streets. Counsel should update know-your-rights materials and ensure hotline numbers are active.
Practical tip: Until the appeal is resolved, advise foreign nationals in D.C. to carry copies of identity documents and, if questioned by ICE, to ask politely whether they are free to leave and whether the officer has a warrant signed by a judge.
