A Bay Area civil rights group filed a class action lawsuit to try to end the Trump administration’s policy of arresting immigrants at courthouses. On Tuesday, a U.S. district court judge in San Jose heard arguments from the group and the Department of Justice. For months, U.S. Immigration and C ustoms Enforcement agents in the Bay Area have detained people heading into and coming out of routine hearings at immigration court in San Francisco and Concord. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area filed a lawsuit to stop the practice. “We brought this case because people all across the country are being put to this impossible catch-22 where they either show up to immigration court and risk being escorted out in handcuffs or out of fear of that scenario they stay home and abandon their American dream,” said Jordan Wells with the Lawyer’s Committee. During Tuesday’s federal court hearing, attorneys for the Lawyer’s Committee argued the court arrests violate the Administrative Procedure Act. “We’re making a very basic argument, which is that when the government chooses to start a new policy, it has to explain itself to the American public,” Wells said. Immigration Dec 8 Trump administration abruptly cancels citizenship ceremonies for some immigrants Trump Administration Dec 8 Maker of deleted ICEBlock app sues Trump administration over pressure on Apple Immigration Dec 7 ICE has arrested nearly 75,000 people with no criminal records, data shows Attorneys representing the Department of Justice declined to speak with NBC Bay Area. During the hearing, they argued the courts are an appropriate place for enforcement actions, saying those arrests are conducted for safety reasons. If the judge does agree to put a pause on courthouse arrests, it could go into effect immediately, but it’s unclear if the decision would apply to ICE enforcement actions across the nation or just locally. Some states, including New York, already have limits on immigration enforcement in courthouses. If the federal judge in San Jose decides to halt ICE courthouse arrests, it would have no impact on the agency’s enforcement action in other parts of the community. The judge will issue his decision in writing, which could take days or weeks. ...read more read less