You’re walking out of work, tired, thinking about dinner. At the corner, an unmarked car brakes hard. Men in ski masks, dark sunglasses and plain clothes get out. They show no badge, they don’t identify themselves, and within seconds someone is handcuffed on the sidewalk. If you’ve seen it — or heard about it with fear in your community’s WhatsApp group — it wasn’t an isolated misunderstanding: it is exactly the practice that 22 U.S. attorneys general have just challenged before a federal court.
What happened this Tuesday
On October 20, a coalition of 22 attorneys general — led by Connecticut Attorney General William Tong — filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in support of a lawsuit questioning the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) policy of conducting warrantless civil immigration arrests.
The case is called Escobar-Molina v. DHS (docket No. 26-5045). The attorneys general joining the brief are those of: the District of Columbia, California, Colorado, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
What the law requires (and what DHS is not meeting, according to the brief)
Federal law (8 U.S.C. § 1357(a)(2)) sets two clear conditions for an immigration officer to detain someone without a warrant:
- Probable cause that the person is in the country without legal authorization.
- Reason to believe the person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.
The attorneys general argue that DHS officers routinely make arrests without checking the second point: the flight risk. In other words, they arrest without a warrant even when there is no reason to think the person will flee. In the brief, they ask the appeals court to keep in force a December 2025 court order that had already partially blocked this practice.
Why it matters for Latino communities
The attorneys general’s brief describes in detail the harm these operations have caused, according to their offices:
- Students who stop going to school out of fear.
- Agricultural work disrupted in the middle of the season.
- People who stop going to the doctor even when they are sick.
- The financial stability of families put at risk when a household breadwinner disappears overnight.
- Growing distrust between immigrant communities and local police, whom many no longer dare to call.
It also points to what has become the most repeated image of these operations: agents wearing ski masks, dark sunglasses, plain clothes and driving unmarked vehicles, who refuse to identify themselves during detentions — sowing fear and uncertainty even among legal residents watching the scene.
What changes and who is affected
Let’s be clear: this changes nothing today. The case is on appeal and the court has not yet set a date for oral arguments. What does change is the legal weight against the practice: 22 states are telling the court that warrantless arrests violate federal immigration law itself.
It mostly affects undocumented immigrants in the signing states, but also mixed-status families and entire communities where fear has already changed daily life: who takes the kids to school, who opens the door, who goes out to work.
What to do today, in order
- Don’t run or resist. Stay calm and keep your hands visible. Resisting makes any case worse.
- Stay silent about your immigration status. You have the right not to answer questions about where you were born or how you entered the country. You can calmly say you prefer not to speak.
- Ask: “Am I free to leave?” If they say yes, walk away calmly. If they detain you, ask to speak with a lawyer.
- Don’t sign anything without a lawyer reviewing it. Signing can mean accepting your own deportation.
- Memorize two numbers: a trusted immigration lawyer’s and a family member’s. Keep them on paper in your wallet too, not just on your phone.
- If they knock on your door, don’t open without a judicial warrant signed by a judge (with your name, your address and the judge’s signature). An ICE administrative warrant does not authorize entry into your home.
- If it is safe, document: names, badge numbers, patrol cars, time and place, and look for witnesses. That information is key for a complaint.
- Prepare a family plan: who picks up your children if you are detained, where the important documents are, and who can make decisions for you.
Keep reading on Actual USA: News · U.S. revoked 300,000 visas: reasons · Ukraine–Sudan TPS: DHS keeps protection
Official sources
- Connecticut Attorney General — Oct 20, 2026 statement on the 22-attorney-general amicus brief: Attorney General Tong supports litigation challenging unlawful immigration arrests
- Amici curiae brief (34 pages, filed Oct 19, 2026, case No. 26-5045) at portal.ct.gov: Brief of Amici States (PDF)
- Illinois Attorney General — statement on the Escobar-Molina v. DHS case: Attorney General Raoul files brief opposing unlawful immigration arrests
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