California sues ICE over courthouse arrests, citing disrupted prosecutions

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration Thursday to stop federal immigration arrests at state courthouses, alleging the practice has disrupted criminal prosecutions, intimidated witnesses and unlawfully interfered with the state's judicial system.

The lawsuit, filed in the Central District of California, marks the state's 100th legal challenge against the administration in less than two years, according to Bonta's office.

"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 in a statement. "Our justice system cannot function this way."

The 36-page complaint names U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security and their leadership. It challenges federal directives authorizing civil immigration arrests in and around courthouses.

California alleges that the average monthly number of reported courthouse immigration arrests increased more than 550% following a May 2025 ICE directive expanding enforcement authority.

In June 2026, state courts reported 34 enforcement incidents resulting in 30 civil arrests. Another 28 arrests occurred in July, after a federal judge vacated ICE's January and May 2025 courthouse enforcement directives, according to Bonta's office.

The complaint describes arrests at courthouses throughout California, including Los Angeles, Fresno, San Bernardino and Stanislaus counties.

In one Los Angeles prosecution, attempted murder and assault charges were dismissed after undocumented victims refused to testify because they feared immigration arrest and deportation, the state alleges.

In another case, prosecutors accepted a resolution without additional jail time after a burglary victim declined to appear in court.

California asserts four causes of action under the Administrative Procedure Act and the 10th Amendment. It argues that ICE failed to consider the consequences of its policy, exceeded its statutory authority and infringed on the state's sovereign power to administer justice.

The state also invokes a centuries-old common-law privilege protecting people attending court proceedings from civil arrest.

A federal judge vacated ICE's January and May 2025 directives in June, but California alleges courthouse enforcement continued under a substantially similar policy. The earlier ruling remains under appeal.

The state seeks to invalidate the current enforcement directive and obtain an injunction prohibiting civil immigration arrests at California courthouses.

State of California v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2:26-cv-12026 (C.D. Cal., filed Oct. 15, 2026).