A federal judge in Washington, D.C., stopped Immigration and Customs Enforcement from enacting a new policy to transfer immigrant detainees from children’s shelters to adult detention centers as soon as they turn 18.
The emergency intervention on Saturday afternoon came after two immigrant advocacy groups alerted the court that ICE intended, through a policy enacted this week, to disobey the judge’s previous decision barring the automatic relocation of immigrants aging out of shelters for minors.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras temporarily ordered ICE to halt policy changes regarding immigrants turning 18 years old and to turn over to the court any documents about the agency’s new guidance.