Singleton Schreiber Files Class Action to Stop ICE Courthouse Arrests of Asylum Seekers in San Diego
San Diego, CA — Singleton Schreiber has filed a federal class action lawsuit on behalf of asylum seekers who have been unlawfully arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the San Diego Immigration Court. The lawsuit challenges new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) policies that allow ICE officers to detain asylum seekers immediately after court hearings, even when those individuals have complied with all legal requirements and pose no danger to the community.
The complaint details how, beginning in May 2025, ICE officers stationed in the San Diego Immigration Court have arrested individuals moments after their hearings, despite DHS’s prior determinations that they were neither a flight risk nor a public safety threat. Plaintiffs allege these arrests violate the Administrative Procedure Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“This practice turns our courts of law into arrest traps,” said Singleton Schreiber Managing Partner Gerald Singleton. “It discourages people from appearing in court, undermines the rule of law, and retraumatizes those who are simply trying to follow the legal process Congress created for asylum seekers.”
Partner Kimberly Hutchison added, “Our clients have done everything the government has asked of them, appearing for hearings, complying with check-ins, and following the law. Yet they were ambushed and detained without cause. This lawsuit seeks to restore the most basic principles of justice: that courts must remain open, accessible, and free from intimidation.”
The lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California to declare that courthouse arrests at the San Diego Immigration Court are unlawful and vacate the federal policies authorizing them.
Singleton Schreiber is a client-centered law firm with expertise in mass torts, multi-district litigation, fire litigation, personal injury/wrongful death, civil rights, environmental law, insurance bad faith, tribal law, and sex abuse/trafficking. Home to the nation’s largest fire litigation practice, the firm has represented over 30,000 wildfire and explosion victims and played leading roles in high-stakes cases nationwide. Its civil rights practice tackles police misconduct, excessive force, wrongful incarceration, and free speech violations, using strategic litigation to drive reform. Singleton Schreiber partnered with the ACLU of New Mexico to defend DACA recipients unlawfully detained by federal authorities, as part of its commitment to protecting immigrant communities. The team is also pursuing groundbreaking litigation against Tesla’s autopilot system, serving in leadership in national hair relaxer litigation, and advocating for survivors of abuse by major hotel chains. With deep experience in complex claims, Singleton Schreiber is committed to obtaining justice for its clients, holding corporations accountable and helping communities recover.
