Original Date Announced

ICE issued a memorandum providing a nationwide waiver for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field offices’ 12-hour holding cell limit. The waiver allows noncitizens who are recently detained, or are being transferred to or from a court, detention facility, other holding facility, or other agency to be housed in a holding facility for up to 72 hours, absent “exceptional circumstances.” The memorandum cites limited transfer options and the inability to release detainees as the cause that field offices exceeded prior limits. The waiver will remain in effect for a year.

Trump 2.0 [ID #1970]

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.07.11 Amended Complaint - D.N.N. v. Baker

The Amica Center for Immigrant Rights and the National Immigration Project filed a second amended class action complaint on behalf of all persons who are now or will be detained in holding cells operated by ICE’s Baltimore Field Office to challenge the hold room waiver described above. The second amended complaint alleges that the hold room waiver violates the Administrative Procedure Act. It further alleges that as a result of the hold room waiver, ICE is regularly detaining immigrants for multiple days at a time under "inhumane putative conditions" in violation of the Fifth Amendment. Plaintiffs assert that they are subject to overcrowded rooms with little to no privacy, and lack access to basic hygienic items, proper bedding, medication, adequate meals, and calls with counsel. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief. D.N.N. v. Baker, No. 1:25-cv-01613 (D. Maryland).

**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.08.11 Class Action Complaint - Barco Mercado v. Noem

Sergio Barco Mercado filed a class action complaint to challenge the prolonged detention of immigrants under "crowded, squalid, and punitive" conditions at 26 Federal Plaza, a Manhattan ICE office where ICE detains immigrants arrested at court hearings and check-ins. The complaint alleges that ICE has banned attorneys from accessing clients at 26 Federal Plaza and "pack[s]" people for a week or more at the facility in direct violation of the memorandum described above, which permits the detention of immigrants for only up to 72 hours. The complaint states that the holding facility has no beds or showers; that detainees sleep "on the floor next to the toilet" in cells that are "either freezing or oppressively hot"; and that detainees receive "at most only two small meals a day." Plaintiffs assert that their detention violates the First and Fifth Amendments of the Constitution, and seek declaratory and injunctive relief. Barco Mercado v. Noem, No. 1:25-cv-06568 (S.D.N.Y.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.08.12 Temporary Restraining Order - Barco Mercado v. Noem

District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a temporary restraining order imposing minimum standards governing confinement conditions and access to counsel for detainees held at the holding facility located at 26 Federal Plaza. Among other things, the TRO requires that detainees be furnished adequate supplies of soap, towels, toilet paper, and oral hygiene products; given a clean feeding mat; and provided a room that is cleaned at least three times a day. It also requires ICE to allow detainees to obtain and make confidential phone calls to legal counsel; provide a fact sheet to detainees with their legal rights; and maintain its Online Detainee Locator System in order to "accurately identif[y] the location of each Detainee in real time or as close thereto as is reasonably possible." Barco Mercado v. Noem, No. 1:25-cv-06568 (S.D.N.Y.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.09.17 Preliminary Injunction - Barco Mercado v. Noem

District Judge Lewis Kaplan issued a preliminary injunction, finding that plaintiffs are "very likely to succeed" on the merits of their claims that holding-room conditions at 26 Federal Plaza violate the First and Fifth Amendments. The injunction requires ICE to abide by the same minimum standards regarding confinement conditions and access to counsel as outlined in the court's August 12, 2025 temporary restraining order. Barco Mercado v. Noem, No. 1:25-cv-06568 (S.D.N.Y.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**

Subsequent Trump and Court Action

2025.09.18 Class Action Complaint - Pablo Sequen v. Kaiser

A coalition of immigrant-rights groups and individual plaintiffs filed a class action suit challenging the Trump administration's courthouse arrests policy and the prolonged detention of immigrants at ICE's San Francisco field office pursuant to the hold room waiver. The San Francisco field office, a hold room meant for brief stays while immigrants await transfer or processing for release, now holds immigrants for extended periods of time ranging up to six days. Plaintiffs allege that the government's courthouse arrest policy and waiver of its 12-hour holding cell limit are arbitrary and capricious. They further allege that individuals detained in San Francisco are subject to conditions such as sleep deprivation, medical neglect, and unsanitary and cramped conditions in violation of the Fifth Amendment, and are denied access to counsel in violation of the First Amendment. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief and ask the court to order the release of the detained plaintiffs. Pablo Sequen v. Albarran, No. 5:25-cv-06487 (N.D. Cal.).

**Link to case here. See litigation note above**