California Files Its 100th Suit Against the Trump Administration, This Time Over ICE Courthouse Arrests

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Department of Homeland Security and ICE on Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles federal court, marking the state's 100th lawsuit against the Trump administration in under two years. The suit challenges ICE's civil immigration arrests in and around state courthouses, saying agents, often in plainclothes and unannounced, detained people in hallways, lobbies and parking lots. California says courthouse arrests rose more than 550% in the year after the directive took effect and continued even after a judge vacated it in a separate case, Pablo Sequen v. Albarran, in June 2026.

The lawsuit argues the policy is arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act, exceeds ICE's statutory authority under a common-law privilege against civil arrests at courthouses, and violates the Tenth Amendment by interfering with California's judicial system. Bonta said the arrests have a "chilling effect" on courthouse access, calling the milestone "sobering" and adding, "our justice system cannot function this way."

The case is newly filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California; no hearing date had been set, and DHS and ICE had not responded publicly.