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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are starting a new effort across the country to detain illegal immigrants right after their asylum hearings as they exit courtrooms. This information was confirmed by multiple sources familiar with the situation to Fox News.
The effort will target those who have been living in the United States for less than two years, sources said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed a strategy to reduce illegal immigration cases. The plan involves apprehending migrants and putting them into expedited removal processes. This expedites their deportation from the United States without the need for a hearing before an immigration judge, as per ICE sources.
If a migrant has an ongoing court case, they cannot be fast-tracked for expedited removal. This is why DHS is seeking to close these cases. Sources mention that immigration judges are in agreement with this initiative and are cooperating by dismissing these cases.
ICE has escalated their pursuit and detention of migrants by waiting outside courtrooms to see if judges are ordering them to be deported or if prosecutors are asking for their cases to be dismissed. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis )
Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, immigration attorney and CEO and owner of Lincoln-Goldfinch Law, told Fox News Digital that while “ICE can go in and conduct apprehensions in courthouses,” such arrests “can be restricted” if immigration judges refuse to dismiss cases.
In an April 29 press release marking 100 days in office, DHS announced that border apprehensions were down 95% since President Donald Trump took office, and more migrants are returning to their home countries to avoid deportation.
The administration also noted that it had arrested more than 158,000 illegal aliens in 2025 alone, including more than 600 members of Tren de Aragua, saying federal officials are “targeting the worst of the worst” with 75% of illegal immigrant arrests involving those with convictions or pending charges.
