ICE Admits False Arrest Justification

0:00On March 26, lawyers for immigration and customs enforcement admitted they provided false information to defend arresting thousands of people, leaving immigration courts. They had cited an agency memo from May of last year as justification, but new court documents show it never authorized those arrests. Federal prosecutors revealed this in filings for a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups. The case challenges ISIS tactic of targeting folks seeking legal status right after their hearings, which has blocked many from continuing their cases. These arrests fit into a broader push under the Trump administration to increase detentions and deportations. Civil rights advocates say ISIS offered no real legal basis, and the practice has led to people being held in facilities hundreds of miles from home. An ISIS attorney now confirms the memo doesn't support the arrests and express regret that the mistake surface so late in the litigation. They insist it wasn't due to carelessness by their team.

1:00This admission could reshape the lawsuit as the judge reviews the ongoing challenges to ISIS courthouse arrests.