California Files Its 100th Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration, Targeting ICE Arrests at Courthouses
Attorney General Rob Bonta says civil immigration arrests at state courthouses scare victims and witnesses away. The White House calls the suits frivolous and points to its Supreme Court record. Here is what the complaint says and what each side argues.
The Overview
The facts, straight
BREAKING: Filed Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026 (docket). This is a separate case from the Justice Department's suit over California mail ballots (our story), which is No. 2:26-cv-12025. This case is No. 2:26-cv-12026.
California has now sued the Trump administration 100 times. The 100th suit, filed Thursday in federal court in Los Angeles, asks a judge to stop U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from making civil immigration arrests in and around state courthouses.
The case is State of California v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, No. 2:26-cv-12026 (C.D. Cal.). It names ICE, Acting ICE Director David Venturella, the Department of Homeland Security and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The state makes three claims under the Administrative Procedure Act: that ICE's courthouse policy is arbitrary and capricious, exceeds its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and violates the Constitution. A fourth claim rests directly on the Tenth Amendment, which reserves to the states the powers not delegated to the federal government.
The policy. The complaint targets ICE Policy No. 11072.4, "Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions in or Near Courthouses," dated May 27, 2025, and signed by then-Acting Director Todd Lyons. The state says it "authorized the civil immigration arrest of any noncitizen in or near a courthouse."
The earlier ruling. On June 23, 2026, a federal judge in the Northern District of California held that ICE's January and May 2025 courthouse directives violated the APA and vacated them, in Pablo Sequen v. Albarran. Judgment was entered June 30, and the court denied a stay on July 10. The government's appeal and stay request are pending at the Ninth Circuit, so the case is not over. The state says arrests continued. By Bonta's office's count, California's superior courts reported 34 enforcement incidents and 30 civil arrests in June 2026, when more detailed data collection began, and 28 incidents and 28 arrests in July. The complaint says there were at least 60 incidents and 60 civil arrests in July, August and September combined.
The milestone. Bonta reached 100 lawsuits in 21 months, his office said, leading or co-leading 67 of them. His office counts 57 orders granting early relief, 26 final orders, and nine cases where the administration backed down before a ruling on the merits. During Trump's first term, California sued the federal government 123 times in four years, CalMatters reported. The litigation cost the state more than $30 million last year and a workload equal to about 99 full-time employees, according to a previous Sacramento Bee investigation cited in the Bee's report.
The state law. On Sept. 29, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 873 (Chapter 753). It says a person "shall not be subject to civil arrest while present at a courthouse for any lawful activity" or while traveling to or from one. The protection does not cover arrests made under a valid judicial warrant, according to the state's complaint. It expands a 2019 law, AB 668, that barred civil arrests inside courthouses.
This case also sits alongside the broader fight over courts and immigration enforcement that border czar Tom Homan described this weekend (our story).
What the Left Says
The progressive and Democratic case
Bonta says the arrests are hurting prosecutions. "We've seen serious criminal charges dropped and entire cases jeopardized because victims and witnesses are too scared to come to the courthouse to testify," he said in announcing the suit. "There is good reason that the common law, dating back centuries, bars civil arrests at courthouses." He called the 100th filing "a sobering milestone."
The state's highest judge raised the same concern last year. "Making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights," California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said in a July 31, 2025 statement. She said she was "deeply concerned" about the arrests' "potential chilling effect."
The complaint argues the issue is state sovereignty as much as immigration. Running courts and prosecuting crimes are core state powers, it says, and the Tenth Amendment protects them from federal interference.
Where Reality Likely Sits
Radio Purple's analysis
Both sides want courts to work. Nobody in this fight argues that victims and witnesses should stay home from court, and nobody argues that federal law doesn't govern immigration. The dispute is over where a federal arrest power ends and a state's control of its own courthouses begins.
Federalism cuts both ways. Red states used the same tools against the last administration. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Texas's 100th lawsuit against the Biden-Harris administration on Nov. 11, 2024, starting with a challenge to a pause on deportations two days into that term.
What happens next depends on the courts. The Ninth Circuit's handling of Pablo Sequen will matter here, and so will any ruling on California's new courthouse law. Should a courthouse be off-limits for civil immigration arrests, or should federal agents be able to make arrests wherever the law allows?
What the Right Says
The conservative and Republican case
The White House says the record is on its side. "The reality is, with well over 25 Supreme Court victories, the administration's policies have been consistently upheld as lawful, despite some lower courts issuing an unprecedented number of lawless injunctions," White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said, as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. "Instead of bragging about filing frivolous lawsuits against the Trump administration, the California Attorney General should focus on addressing problems in his own state — like the countless criminal illegal aliens extreme Democrats allow to roam free," she said in an email to the Sacramento Bee.
Immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility, and ICE has defended courthouse arrests as a safety measure. An ICE spokesperson told the Sacramento Bee last year that courthouse detentions are "safer for law enforcement and the general public because these criminals have gone through security and been verified as unarmed," the Bee reported.
Supporters also note the government is still fighting the earlier ruling. The Pablo Sequen judgment is on appeal, and the Ninth Circuit has not ruled on the government's request for a stay. They also point to the cost of the litigation, more than $30 million last year by the Bee's count.
Sources & Citations
- California Department of Justice, “Complaint, State of California v. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, No. 2:26-cv-12026 (C.D. Cal.)”, October 15, 2026.
- California Department of Justice, “100 Lawsuits, 21 Months: Attorney General Bonta Sues ICE over Civil Immigration Arrests at California Courthouses”, October 15, 2026.
- California Department of Justice, ““A Sobering Milestone”: Attorney General Bonta Files 100th Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration in Under Two Years”, October 15, 2026.
- California Courts Newsroom, “California Chief Justice Issues Statement on Immigration Enforcement at California Courthouses”, July 31, 2025.
- California Legislative Information, “SB 873 (2025-2026 Regular Session), Chapter 753, Statutes of 2026”, September 29, 2026.
- Office of the Texas Attorney General, “Attorney General Ken Paxton Files 100th Lawsuit Against Biden-Harris Administration”, November 11, 2024.
- Sacramento Bee, “Report on California's 100th lawsuit (Sharon Bernstein)”, October 15, 2026.
- Sacramento Bee, “Capitol Alert report quoting ICE on courthouse detentions”, January 1, 2025.
- Los Angeles Times (Kevin Rector and Brittny Mejia), “In 100th lawsuit against Trump, California challenges ICE courthouse arrests”, October 15, 2026.
- CalMatters, “California files 100th lawsuit against second Trump administration”, October 1, 2026.
- Bloomberg Law, “California Sues to End Courthouse Immigration Arrests”, October 15, 2026.
Positions above are attributed to the public statements and published reporting cited here. Quotations are taken from these sources; Radio Purple does not publish unattributed or invented quotes. See an error? Request a correction.