California's Attorney General sued the Trump administration over immigration enforcement at state courthouses, arguing that officers' civil enforcement actions have disrupted criminal prosecutions and discouraged witnesses and victims from appearing in court.
Attorney General Bonta filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The lawsuit targets a directive adopted in May 2025 that authorized ICE officers to conduct civil immigration enforcement at courthouses. Monthly ICE arrests at California courthouses increased by more than 550 percent in the year following the policy change, the state said, with enforcement actions occurring across the state from Los Angeles and San Diego to rural counties in Shasta, Butte, and Glenn.
The enforcement has disrupted criminal cases. "We've seen serious criminal charges dropped and entire cases jeopardized because victims and witnesses are too scared to come to the courthouse to testify," Bonta said.
A federal court vacated ICE's directive in late June 2026, but enforcement continued. From June onward, when the state began expanded data collection, there were 34 reported enforcement incidents at superior courts statewide in June, resulting in 30 civil arrests, followed by 28 incidents and 28 arrests in July.
ICE conducts the enforcement unannounced, often using plainclothes, unidentified officers who apprehend attendees in hallways, lobbies, and parking lots. Officers have also waited in court parking lots for days seeking specific individuals. The directive does not limit who may be arrested — it can target criminal defendants, witnesses, victims, or anyone conducting civic business or accompanying a family member.
The state argues that federal immigration officers lack authority to conduct civil arrests at courthouses under common law and the Immigration and Nationality Act. The lawsuit contends that ICE's directive violates the Administrative Procedure Act, exceeds the agency's statutory authority, and infringes California's sovereign judicial and police powers under the Tenth Amendment.
The attorney general said this is his 100th lawsuit in 21 months.