Federal courts have been inundated with a flood of cases stemming from the Trump administration's revised approach to the detention of unauthorized immigrants, with judges routinely ruling against the government as immigration attorneys scramble to keep up.
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Immigration
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

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Habeas Cases Flood Courts After Immigrant Detention Shift

By Jack Karp

Federal courts have been inundated with a flood of cases stemming from the Trump administration's revised approach to the detention of unauthorized immigrants, with judges routinely ruling against the government as immigration attorneys scramble to keep up.

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Trump Admin Sued Over 'Pay-To-Play' Gold Card Program

By Rae Ann Varona

Immigrants and an academic professionals union filed suit Tuesday to block President Donald Trump's "gold card" visa program, telling a D.C. federal court that the "pay-to-play" program unlawfully takes visas away from professionals the existing employment-based visa system prioritizes.

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Md. Judge Says Most Of ICE Church Raids Suit Can Proceed

By Tom Lotshaw

A Maryland federal judge on Tuesday largely rejected the Trump administration's push to escape a coalition of religious organizations' claims that it unlawfully enacted a policy to allow immigration enforcement at churches and other sites that had been largely off-limits.

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Floyd Prosecutor, Defense Atty To Represent Pretti's Family

By Lynn LaRowe

The relatives of a Minnesota intensive care nurse killed by ICE agents have secured legal representation from a former federal prosecutor who helped secure the conviction of an ex-police officer in the killing of George Floyd, and a criminal defense attorney coming off a high-profile murder case.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Trump Signs Funding Bills, DHS Reform Still To Be Addressed

By Courtney Bublé

The House voted 217-214 on Tuesday to pass the five remaining spending bills for fiscal 2026 and a continuing resolution for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which kicks off a 10-day sprint for lawmakers to work on reforms to immigration enforcement before triggering another government shutdown.

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LITIGATION

1st Circ. Mindful Of Justices In 3rd Country Removal Case

By Julie Manganis

A First Circuit panel suggested Tuesday that a U.S. Supreme Court emergency docket stay may constrain its review of a district judge's decision requiring due process for deportees facing removal to so-called third countries where they may face torture.

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7th Circ. Probes Due Process For Ill. ICE Detainees

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit judge Tuesday asked the Trump administration to square its position that immigrants unlawfully in the United States have no due process rights with Supreme Court rulings that held otherwise, as the appellate court mulls the bid to block two orders addressing warrantless arrests of hundreds of immigrants.

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Dem Lawmakers Win Block On New ICE Detention Visit Policy

By Tom Lotshaw

A D.C. federal judge temporarily blocked a Trump administration policy that had required Congress members to provide a week's notice before making oversight visits to immigrant detention facilities, ruling the policy will likely be found unlawful.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Opinion

Minn. Can Still Bring State Charges In Absence Of Fed Action

After two fatal shootings by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota's role isn't waiting to see if the federal government brings criminal charges, but independently weighing state homicide charges and allowing the judiciary to decide whether the subject conduct falls within the narrow protections of supremacy clause immunity, says Sheila Tendy at Tendy Law.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Baker McKenzie Describes Client Fallout After Assault Claims

By Alison Knezevich

Several clients asked the leader of Baker McKenzie's Washington, D.C., office to stop handling work for them after he was accused of sexual assault, according to a new filing in a defamation case against the former firm associate who made the allegations.

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Goldstein Knew What Was On His Returns, Accountant Claims

By Jared Foretek

The top outside accountant handling tax returns for SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein and his law firm said Tuesday that Goldstein wasn't forthcoming about his gambling records and that he firmly believed the former U.S. Supreme Court attorney knew what was in his allegedly false tax returns when they were filed.

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Approach The Bench: Judge Yew Warns Of Deepfake Evidence

By Cara Bayles and Steven Trader

After decades on the bench of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, Judge Erica Yew began to regard the future of courtroom evidence with some trepidation, as the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence made it easier to falsify documents, photos and videos.

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4 Attys Sanctioned Over AI Hallucinations In Legal Brief

By Elliot Weld

A Kansas federal judge has issued sanctions against a group of lawyers representing a technology company in a patent dispute and has referred one attorney for disciplinary action over case citations hallucinated by ChatGPT appearing in a legal brief.

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Pretti Killing Highlights Free Speech And Gun Rights Tension

By Marco Poggio

The killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and lawful gun owner, by federal immigration enforcement agents in Minneapolis last month brought to the fore a long-standing tension between two constitutional rights that the U.S. Supreme Court has never resolved, legal experts say.

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Feds Fight Cyberstalking Atty's Bid For Pretrial Release

By Adrian Cruz

The U.S. government has asked a Texas federal judge to reject a bid for pretrial release from a currently detained attorney charged with cyberstalking other attorneys at BigLaw firms.

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Queens Defenders Ex-Director Admits Embezzling Over $100K

By Pete Brush

The former longtime head of Queens Defenders copped to a count of fraud conspiracy in Brooklyn federal court Tuesday after prosecutors said she diverted over $100,000 intended for indigent residents and used the money for a lavish lifestyle.

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Analysis

Squires And Stewart's Patent Office, By The Numbers

By Theresa Schliep

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has seen sweeping changes under Director John Squires and Deputy Director Coke Morgan Stewart, ranging from pro-patent owner policies at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to employment shake-ups that have prompted departures from the agency.

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Senate Confirms Picks For Texas, Ark. District Court Seats

By Courtney Buble

The Senate confirmed two U.S. district court judges, for Texas and Arkansas, on Tuesday.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Avanti Law Group

Baker McKenzie

Bracewell LLP

Buether Joe

Colombo & Hurd

Fish & Richardson

Fisher Patterson

Gividen Law

Jackson Lewis PC

Kuchler & Cotton

Leach & Walker

Marshall Gerstein

Maslon LLP

Morgan Lewis

Munger Tolles

Napoli Shkolnik

Prokosch Law

Romanucci & Blandin

Schwegman Lundberg

Tendy Law

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

American Association of University Professors

American Civil Liberties Union

Apple Inc.

Burke Inc.

Cato Institute

Chevron Corp.

Cornell University

Democracy Forward Foundation

Duke University

Everytown for Gun Safety

Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman

Human Rights First

LinkedIn Corp.

Overstock.com Inc.

Public Citizen Inc.

Second Amendment Foundation

Spotify Technology SA

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alaska Department of Law

California Commission on Judicial Performance

Executive Office for Immigration Review

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Internal Revenue Service

Minnesota Attorney General's Office

National Labor Relations Board

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Tennessee Attorney General's Office

U.S. Army

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Department of Commerce

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of State

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United Nations

United States District Court for the District of Kansas