Courts have ruled 4,400 times that ICE jailed people illegally. It hasn't stopped. [View all]
WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Hundreds of judges around the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since October that President Donald Trumps administration is detaining immigrants unlawfully, a Reuters review of court records found.
The decisions amount to a sweeping legal rebuke of Trumps immigration crackdown. Yet the administration has continued jailing people indefinitely even after courts ruled the policy was illegal.
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"It is appalling that the Government insists that this Court should redefine or completely disregard the current law as it is clearly written," U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston of West Virginia, an appointee of President George W. Bush, wrote last week, ordering the release of a Venezuelan detainee in the state.
Most of the rulings center on the Trump administrations departure from a nearly three-decade-old interpretation of federal law that immigrants already living in the United States could be released on bond while they pursue their cases in immigration court.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the administration is "working to lawfully deliver on President Trumps mandate to enforce federal immigration law."
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Under Trump, the number of people in ICE detention reached about 68,000 this month, up about 75% from when Trump took office last year.
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/courts-have-ruled-4400-times-that-ice-jailed-people-illegally-it-hasnt-stopped-2026-02-14/