A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's policy of conducting immigration arrests at courthouses, ruling against a practice that had drawn legal challenges from civil rights groups and state attorneys general. The court order bars immigration enforcement officers from making arrests inside courthouse facilities while the legal challenge proceeds.

The Trump administration had expanded courthouse arrests as part of its broader interior immigration enforcement strategy, arguing that courthouses represent effective locations for apprehending individuals who have ignored immigration proceedings or are subject to removal orders. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had made a number of such arrests in recent months.

Critics of the policy argued that courthouse arrests deter immigrants, including crime victims and witnesses, from participating in the judicial system out of fear of arrest. Advocates contended that the practice undermines the functioning of state and local courts by discouraging appearances from individuals with civil or criminal matters pending before judges.

The ruling represents one of several federal court decisions that have constrained the administration's immigration enforcement agenda. The Justice Department is expected to appeal the order, and the ultimate legal question of whether immigration authorities have statutory authority to conduct arrests in courthouse settings may eventually reach higher courts.