ACLU Sues DHS Over ICE Re-Detention Policy
Chapters in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina challenge a policy allowing migrants to be re-detained without a flight-risk or danger finding.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Immigration
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ACLU chapters in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Northern District of Georgia's Atlanta Division. The suit names four people who were re-detained and later released, and asks a court to stop the policy.
Why it matters
The lawsuit alleges re-detentions have occurred without any material change in a person's status, and that ICE did not explain or acknowledge the change in policy. The case could determine whether re-detention can proceed without a finding that a person is a flight risk or danger to the community.
The ACLU chapters filed suit on November 12, 2026, asking the court to find the policy arbitrary, capricious and unconstitutional. The government has not yet responded publicly, and no ruling has been issued.
The players
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The federal department responsible for immigration enforcement and the named defendant in the lawsuit.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
The federal agency that carries out immigration detention and removal and the other named defendant in the lawsuit.
The details
The lawsuit challenges an ICE policy that allows migrants to be re-detained without being deemed a flight risk or danger to the community. The four plaintiffs were re-detained after complying with release conditions, including attending court hearings and check-in appointments. Re-detain arrests in the Atlanta ICE Field Office rose beginning in May 2025, when the policy changed.
Timeline
May 2025: The re-detention policy changed and re-detain arrests increased in Atlanta.
July 2026: Removals fell to 26,908 people in that month.
November 12, 2026: The ACLU lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Georgia.
Policy Shift
The lawsuit targets the May 2025 change that allowed re-detention without a flight-risk or danger finding, a shift that coincided with a decline in total removals compared with the prior administration's final full year.
Migrants who have been released under conditions and are complying with court and check-in requirements could face re-detention under the current policy. The outcome of the lawsuit will determine whether those conditions still provide protection from detention.
The takeaway
Compliance with release conditions does not necessarily protect against re-detention under current ICE policy, and the court's ruling on this lawsuit may define how that policy applies going forward.
Further reading
Explore more on Immigration policy and enforcement developments across the country.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Post and Courier.
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