A federal judge issued a ruling on Tuesday that curtails the Trump administration’s ability to conduct broad immigration arrests in Washington, D.C. The decision mandates that agents must either secure warrants or demonstrate probable cause that the individual poses an immediate flight risk before proceeding with arrests.

The preliminary injunction was granted by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) along with other civil liberties and immigrant rights organizations against the Department of Homeland Security.

Judge Howell highlighted that the plaintiffs had shown a significant likelihood of an illegal policy and practice by the defendants, which involved carrying out civil immigration arrests without the necessary warrants or probable cause.

The judge further stated that the defendants’ consistent failure to adhere to the probable cause requirement, including neglecting to evaluate the risk of escape, constitutes a direct violation of immigration laws and the regulations implemented by the Department of Homeland Security.

This ruling effectively prevents the Trump administration from executing widespread immigration arrests in the nation’s capital without adhering to legal standards of obtaining a warrant or proving imminent flight risk.

Federal agents generally need to have an administrative warrant to make civil immigration arrests, but the Immigration and Nationality Act allows arrests without a warrant when agents have probable cause to suspect the person is in the U.S. illegally and is likely to flee before one can be obtained, Howell said in the ruling.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that federal officers were often patrolling and setting up checkpoints in D.C. neighborhoods with large numbers of Latino immigrants, and stopping and arresting people indiscriminately.

The attorneys provided sworn declarations from people who were arrested without warrants or a required flight risk assessment. They also pointed to public statements by administration officials that they said proved the government was not following the probable cause standard.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys cited public statements by administration officials that they said proved the government was not following the probable cause standard. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Attorneys representing the administration denied having a policy permitting warrantless arrests without probable cause of a flight risk.

On top of blocking the policy, Howell ordered any agent who conducts a warrantless civil immigration arrest in the nation’s capital to document “the specific, particularized facts that supported the agent’s pre-arrest probable cause to believe that the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.”

The judge also required the administration to submit the documentation to the plaintiffs’ attorneys.

The judge said the plaintiffs had “established a substantial likelihood of an unlawful policy and practice by defendants of conducting warrantless civil immigration arrests without probable cause.” (Getty Images)

The ruling is similar to two other decisions in Colorado and California in cases that were also brought by the ACLU.

Another judge prohibited immigration agents from targeting people based solely on factors such as their race, language, job or location after concluding that agents were carrying out indiscriminate stops. The Supreme Court lifted the restraining order in that case in September.