A federal judge in New York on Monday largely banned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from making detentions in or around immigration courts in the city, in a decision that reverses previous rulings and questions the legal basis of the practice.

Judge Kevin Castel issued the order this Monday in the Southern District of New York, considering that the policy used by the federal government to justify arrests in court was based on an erroneous interpretation of internal guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The resolution, consulted by EFE, represents a change with respect to previous resolutions by the judge himself, who had allowed these arrests to continue until the Government acknowledged in March that it had made a mistake by incorrectly applying an administrative guideline.

The practice had been a central and controversial component of the Trump Administration's immigration strategy in the city, with arrests of immigrants who attended routine hearings, which generated complaints from civil organizations about the deterrent impact on court attendance.

The plaintiffs argued that these detentions caused fear among immigrants and could affect access to due process, while DHS defended the measure as a necessary tool to execute deportation orders.