WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell continued a preliminary injunction she issued in December that bars Immigration and Customs Enforcement from relying on a federal memorandum to conduct civil immigration arrests without warrants in Washington, D.C. Howell ruled that instructions given to officers to make such arrests do not meet probable cause standards and should not be used as guidance.

The injunction prohibits defendants from relying on the probable cause standard or analytical approach set forth in a five-page memorandum when conducting civil immigration arrests without a warrant in the District. The memorandum was issued by the former acting director of ICE. Howell wrote that the instructions failed to require officers to assess a person's connections to the community before concluding the person is a flight risk and needs to be taken into custody immediately.

The case stems from a 2025 lawsuit filed in Washington by four noncitizens and the nonprofit organization CASA, who challenged their arrests during immigration sweeps by the federal agency. The sweeps were part of a law-enforcement surge ordered by President Donald Trump.

Howell approved a request by the plaintiffs seeking more records to explain how the policy will be implemented. She rejected some of the plaintiffs' arguments and said the government had adhered to her preliminary injunction order on some issues.

Madeleine Gates, associate counsel at the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, said after the ruling that the plaintiffs had largely prevailed. "We got what we were asking for essentially," she said.

Gates said the decision placed limits on how federal agents may operate during immigration enforcement actions. "The ruling reaffirms that federal agents have to comply with the law. They do not get a pass in doing immigration enforcement," she said. "This particular case is all about what happens at the outset, before the arrest is made."

In response to the litigation, the government has maintained that ICE has authority for lawful arrests and that law enforcement officers use "reasonable suspicion" to investigate immigration status and probable cause to make arrests consistent with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The government also stated that the Supreme Court has already vindicated the agency on these practices.