LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, as part of a coalition of 22 attorneys general, filed an amicus brief (PDF) in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in support of litigation challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) policy and practice of conducting unlawful, warrantless civil immigration arrests. Under federal law, immigration officers conducting warrantless civil immigration arrests must have probable cause to believe that an individual is unlawfully present in the United States and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained. However, DHS officers routinely carry out warrantless arrests without determining if the individual is an escape risk. The brief highlights the widespread harms that unlawful immigration enforcement practices have inflicted on communities across the country, including in Michigan.  

“When immigration agents make unlawful arrests, the damage reaches far beyond the person taken into custody,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Children miss school, workers stay home, and families become afraid to seek medical care or call the police when they need help, putting public safety at risk. The federal government has a duty to enforce immigration law, but it must do so legally. My colleagues and I will continue to hold this agency and administration accountable whenever they fail to follow the law.” 

Across the country, federal immigration agents have escalated their enforcement activities, disrupting communities and undermining public health, safety, education, and local economies. Michigan has seen these harms firsthand, as aggressive immigration enforcement tactics have kept students out of school, disrupted agricultural work, discouraged people from seeking medical care, undermined families’ financial stability, and weakened the relationship between immigrant communities and local law enforcement. Federal agents’ use of ski masks, dark sunglasses, plain clothes, and unmarked vehicles, and refusal to identify themselves while carrying out operations, has further contributed to fear and uncertainty in affected communities. 

The brief was filed in Escobar-Molina v. DHS, a case challenging DHS’s policy and practice of conducting unlawful, warrantless civil immigration arrests in the District of Columbia. On December 2, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted, in part, a motion for a preliminary injunction.  

In filing the brief, Attorney General Nessel joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.