Courts Have Ruled That ICE Illegally Jailed People More Than 4,400 Times in Less Than Five Months
Original article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
In some cases, the administration has kept immigrants locked up even after a judge has ordered their release, according to an investigation by Reuters.
Judges across the country have ruled more than 4,400 times since the start of October that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has illegally detained immigrants, according to a Reuters investigation published Saturday.
As President Donald Trump carries out his unprecedented “mass deportation” crusade, the number of people in ICE custody ballooned to 68,000 this month, up 75% from when he took office.
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Midway through 2025, the administration had begun pushing for a daily quota of 3,000 arrests per day, with the goal of reaching 1 million per year. This has led to the targeting of mostly people with no criminal records rather than the “worst of the worst,” as the administration often claims.
Reuters’ reporting suggests chasing this number has also resulted in a staggering number of arrests that judges have later found to be illegal.
Since the beginning of Trump’s term, immigrants have filed more than 20,200 habeas corpus petitions, claiming they were held indefinitely without trial in violation of the Constitution.
In at least 4,421 cases, more than 400 federal judges have ruled that their detentions were illegal.
Last month, more than 6,000 habeas petitions were filed. Prior to the second Trump administration, no other month dating back to 2010 had seen even 500.
(Graphic by Reuters)
In part due to the sheer volume of legal challenges, the Trump administration has often failed to comply with court rulings, leaving people locked up even after judges ordered them to be released.
Reuters’ new report is the most comprehensive examination to date of the administration’s routine violation of the law with respect to immigration enforcement. But the extent to which federal immigration agencies have violated the law under Trump is hardly new information.
In a ruling last month, Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz of the US District Court in Minnesota—a conservative jurist appointed by former President George W. Bush—provided a list of nearly 100 court orders ICE had violated just that month while deployed as part of Trump’s Operation Metro Surge.
The report of ICE’s systemic violation of the law comes as the agency faces heightened scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with leaders of the agency called to testify and Democrats attempting to hold up funding in order to force reforms to ICE’s conduct, which resulted in a partial shutdown beginning Saturday.
Following the release of Reuters’ report, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) directed a pointed question over social media to Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.
“Why do your out-of-control agents keep violating federal law?” he said. “I look forward to seeing you testify under oath at the House Judiciary Committee in early March.”
Original article by Stephen Prager republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
‘Fucking Insane’: Journalist Finds at Least 2,300 Illegal ICE Detentions Since July ›
Israel plans to restrict access to al-Aqsa mosque during Ramadan
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Israeli authorities have planned to restrict Muslims’ access to al-Aqsa Mosque for prayers during the upcoming Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a well-known Muslim scholar and former grand mufti of Jerusalem said in an interview with Anadolu.
Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, former grand mufti of Jerusalem and head of the Supreme Islamic Council in Jerusalem, expressed regret for the Israeli administration’s plan to restrict access to the third-holiest mosque for Muslims during Ramadan, which begins midweek.
Israel’s ill intentions were clear when Maj. Gen. Avshalom Peled was appointed as a new police commander in occupied East Jerusalem in the first week of January, a move seen as an attempt to advance plans by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz wrote, “It seems Ben-Gvir is doing everything he can to fan the flames.”
“Muslims welcome Ramadan with optimism, following the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, who used to welcome the month at the end of Shaaban,” Sheikh Sabri told Anadolu. “But regarding Jerusalem, we regret the harsh measures the occupying authorities will impose on Muslims coming to Al-Aqsa Mosque.”
He said: “Israeli authorities have already barred dozens of young men from entering the mosque and announced that they will not ease restrictions during Ramadan for worshippers arriving from the occupied West Bank.”
READ: Grand Mufti says Israel uses war to tighten control over Al Aqsa Mosque
“This means there will be tighter restrictions,” Sabri said. “The number of worshippers at Al-Aqsa will be lower than in previous years. This contradicts freedom of worship and disrupts Muslims’ observance of the fasting month.”
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank usually travel to occupied East Jerusalem during Ramadan to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque.
However, since the war began on Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have tightened restrictions at military checkpoints, limiting West Bank residents’ access to Jerusalem.
Over the past two years, only small numbers have received Israeli army-issued permits, which Palestinians say are difficult to obtain. Authorities have not announced any special arrangements for Ramadan this year.
In recent days, Israeli authorities also issued temporary orders against hundreds of Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem—most of them young men—banning them from entering al-Aqsa during Ramadan. Some of the orders extend up to six months.
The measures come as Israel’s right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, faces criticism from Palestinian officials over what they describe as changes to the long-standing “status quo” at the site.
However, local police have unilaterally allowed Israeli extremists to forcibly enter the mosque compound since 2003, despite repeated demands by the Islamic Waqf Department to stop the incursions.
“There is no doubt the right-wing government aims to implement its aggressive plan regarding al-Aqsa Mosque,” Sabri said. “For years, they demanded public entries, open prayers, the use of ritual horns, and prostration. What were once hidden ambitions have now become public.”
He added: “We have long warned that Israel seeks to impose sovereignty over the site and reduce the Islamic Waqf’s authority.”
However, Israeli measures are not limited to al-Aqsa Mosque. They also extend to Palestinian neighborhood demolition in the occupied East Jerusalem in general, and especially those near the mosque.
“The demolition policy is a racist, unjust, illegal, and inhumane policy, and it is an extension of Britain’s unjust policy in Palestine during the period of British colonial rule,” he lamented.
Sabri urged Arab and Islamic peoples to extend help to Palestinians in Jerusalem and called on Arab and Muslim leaders to shoulder their responsibilities toward Jerusalem and al-Aqsa Mosque.
READ: Palestine Action group wins legal challenge in UK over ban as ‘terrorist organisation’
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Extremist Israeli minister storms Ofer Prison, oversees abuse of Palestinian inmates
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Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Friday forced his way into Ofer Prison, west of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, in a visit marked by intimidation and abuse of Palestinian detainees, Anadolu reports.
Ben-Gvir entered the prison accompanied by senior police officials, including Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai, days before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Israel’s Channel 7 reported, saying that stun grenades were fired near Palestinian prisoners’ cells during the visit.
Ben-Gvir, known for publishing inflammatory videos targeting Palestinian detainees and repeatedly threatening them, has openly boasted about tightening prison conditions for Palestinians since taking office in late 2022.
During his tour, he said the changes imposed on prisons were “not enough” and vowed to push for legislation allowing the execution of Palestinian prisoners.
“This is not a luxury hotel. It is a real prison,” Ben-Gvir said, expressing satisfaction with what he described as a “fundamental change” in detention conditions.
READ: Israel arrests 22,000 Palestinians in West Bank, Jerusalem since start of the genocide war
Conditions for Palestinian prisoners have sharply deteriorated under Ben-Gvir’s tenure amid severe restrictions, widespread abuse and noticeable weight loss among detainees.
Palestinian and Israeli rights groups say former prisoners released in recent months have reported systematic torture, sexual violence, starvation and medical neglect, with some showing signs of severe psychological trauma.
In November 2025, Israel’s parliament advanced at first reading a bill introduced by Ben-Gvir’s far-right Otzma Yehudit party that would allow the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis. The proposal still requires second and third readings to become law, and no vote date has been set.
More than 9,300 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including about 350 children, according to figures through early February.
Rights organizations have repeatedly warned that abuse of Palestinian detainees has intensified since October 2023, alongside Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.
READ: Israeli admission accuses Ben Gvir of fuelling chaos among Arab citizens
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Israel arrests 22,000 Palestinians in West Bank, Jerusalem since start of the genocide war
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Israel has arrested around 22,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, since the start of what has been described as a war of genocide, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Prisoner’s Club.
The rights group said the figure covers all cases of arrest during this period, including those who remain in detention and those who were later released. It described the number as an unprecedented record for arrests over just two and a half years.
The Prisoner’s Club stressed that the total does not include arrests in the Gaza Strip, which it said amount to thousands, nor arrest campaigns in the territories occupied in 1948.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the group added that arrest operations in the West Bank are continuing at an increasing pace. It said that at least 40 Palestinians were arrested between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, including four women, one of them a child, as well as former prisoners.
READ: Palestinian mother, daughter recount strip searches, harsh conditions in Israeli detention
The organisation said the arrest operations have been accompanied by what it described as serious and unprecedented violations. These include severe beatings, organised intimidation against detainees and their families, widespread damage to homes, and the seizure of vehicles, money and gold jewellery.
It also accused Israeli forces of destroying infrastructure, demolishing the homes of prisoners’ families, taking relatives hostage, using detainees as human shields, carrying out field executions, and using arrest campaigns as cover to expand settlements in the West Bank.
The Prisoner’s Club further stated that extensive field interrogations have affected thousands since the start of the war, adding that soldiers committed abuses during these interrogations which it said were no less serious than torture carried out in official detention and interrogation centres.
READ: Prisoners’ office reveals assault on Abdullah Barghouti in Israeli jail
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