ICE resumes courthouse arrests in Phoenix, but with new tactics amid opposition

A woman holds up a large banner that reads: “ICE is here! Take precautions,” in Spanish at the Phoenix Immigration Court in Phoenix on May 28, 2025. After several days of no arrests, ICE agents have resumed detaining people at the court, where migrants are caught between the risk of a potential arrest if they show up and the certainty of a deportation order being issued against them if they don’t. Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez | Arizona Mirror

Immigration agents have resumed arresting people who show up to immigration hearings, pulling over and detaining a mother and her children on Wednesday morning. 

Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested more than a dozen people over two days in hallways, elevators and the parking lot after federal prosecutors filed to dismiss their immigration cases, leaving them vulnerable to deportation. 

Similar scenes played out across the country, in Seattle, Miami and Los Angeles, in what legal experts say is a bid by the Trump administration to boost deportation numbers by targeting a population that is easy to access. Migrants with scheduled hearings must show up to court or risk a deportation order. 

Federal immigration agents appear to be focusing on people who have recently arrived in the country. In January, President Donald Trump expanded the scope of expedited removal, a policy that speeds up deportations while at the same time sidestepping the right to a court hearing, from a limited application under the Biden administration that was enforced close to the border to the entire country instead. 

That expansion means that federal officials can arrest anyone who has lived in the U.S. for less than two years. According to the Arizona Republic, the people whose cases were dismissed last week fell in that category. 

In Phoenix, the two days of raids were followed by several days of reprieve — until Wednesday morning, when immigrant rights advocates say federal immigration officials pulled a mother and her children over and arrested them after driving away from court. In a video posted by 50501 Arizona, a group that opposes Trump’s policies, masked federal agents can be seen escorting a woman out of a white mid-sized suv into a van. The woman is carrying an infant’s car seat and holding the hand of a young girl walking behind her. 

Ratt, a member of 50501 who was unwilling to give her last name, denounced the raids as “human trafficking,” and lamented to the Arizona Mirror that people who are complying with the legal process are being targeted. 

“It’s bullsh—. These people are doing everything right, they’re doing everything legally only to be followed and taken,” she said. “And it’s wrong, it’s so enraging.” 

Beth Strano, the executive director of the Borderlands Resource Initiative, an immigrant rights organization that has helped organize multiple volunteer trainings and protests in response to the detainments, said that ICE agents are changing their tactics, likely due to opposition from advocates. 

Last week, agents in plain clothes waited in the courtroom and coordinated with other officers outside. But, according to protestors, Wednesday’s actions appeared to be the result of officers trying to minimize their visibility by surveilling from the parking structure across the courthouse, identifying the vehicle of the person whose case was dismissed and then stopping them down the road.

Strano said that the presence of observers and protestors at the courthouse and other buildings where arrests happen, including Phoenix’s ICE field office, is vital to be able to learn how federal immigration officials are conducting raids and keep vulnerable community members informed about their rights. 

“The more that we are watching and we’re seeing what they’re doing, the more we can report back to the community and people can make their plans accordingly,” she said. “They can know what their rights are, and they can have as much protection within their legal rights as possible.”

But while advocates last week were able to disseminate literature to people entering the courthouse about their rights, this week protestors dealt with new opposition from the property manager. A white rope was tied to the trees next to the courthouse, demarcating where the crowd should stand: on the public sidewalk facing Van Buren Street, several feet away from the court’s entrance. 

Attendees set up a large white poster announcing “Rights & Information“ against the rope in hopes of persuading migrants to approach. Other, smaller posters advising migrants in Spanish not to sign anything and to ask for an appeal if the judge dismisses their case, were difficult to read from that far away. Some walked to the intersection of Van Buren Street and 7th Avenue and held up a large banner warning drivers that ICE agents were present. 

And a group that gathered in front of the entrance to speak to people arriving for their scheduled hearings during the afternoon session was quickly told to disperse by Phoenix police officers or be arrested for trespassing. The group relocated to the courtroom and lobby to observe hearings and ensure migrants leaving their hearings were advised about the danger. 

While no arrests occurred during the afternoon session, multiple people missed their hearings. It’s unclear if a fear of detainment was the reason. 

Strano said that, while an arrest is possible, migrants should still attend their hearings. The alternative is a closed case, a deportation order in absentia and a much more difficult time restarting the legal process. Instead of skipping their hearings, migrants should try to show up to court with a lawyer or someone else who is either a legal permanent resident or citizen to serve as an observer who can contact family members if an arrest does occur. 

Strano added that migrants who are pulled over after their hearings shouldn’t open their door or leave their vehicle unless ICE agents provide an arrest warrant signed by a judge.  

Elected officials question DHS, ICE on courthouse arrests 

As immigrant rights groups sound the alarm over what they view as due process violations, Arizona’s Democratic congressional delegation is pushing back at the federal level. On Wednesday, Arizona Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly and Reps. Yassamin Ansari and Greg Stanton sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons expressing concern over the arrests. 

The people detained at the courthouse, they wrote, have no criminal records and represent no danger to the community. 

“This action targeted those who followed the rules and showed up to their hearing to present their case to an immigration judge as part of the process for claiming asylum or other legal status, where they would be granted or denied status,” the Democrats wrote. 

They noted that the administration’s hyperfocus on immigration enforcement threatens to undermine public safety, and the latest bid to arrest people complying with federal law is just another example of that. 

“The administration’s use of limited resources and reassignment of law enforcement away from drug trafficking and human trafficking cases to target noncriminal immigrants means that serious criminals may be allowed to continue roaming the streets at large — making Arizonans less safe,” they wrote. “Instead, finite resources should be focused on removing individuals who pose genuine threats to public safety, such as gang members and violent offenders, not people complying with the law.”

The letter requests that the agencies provide, by June 3, the exact number of people arrested at immigration courthouses and their demographic information, including their country of origin and age; the number of people who were already in removal proceedings; how many of them have been placed in expedited removal; a copy of the guidance that was used to carry out the arrests; and information on how ICE is meeting federal requirements to conduct fear screenings for people in custody.