Federal Judge Strips ICE of Presumption of Honesty

Wednesday, November 04, 2026

A federal judge in Oregon says he can no longer assume ICE agents are telling the truth in their arrest paperwork, declaring Monday that live testimony is now "necessary" after finding that warrantless arrests are still being made and facts are being "fabricated in official records" by immigration officers

Posted by qcp at 09:31 PM | 10 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai issued a preliminary order earlier this year that ICE could only make a warrantless arrest if the person is likely to flee, and the agency must document those arrests. He ruled Monday that ICE officers have continued to make arrests in Oregon without warrants.

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-- OPB (@opb.org) 6:00 PM Â· Nov 2, 2026

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More: In a 50-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled that ICE repeatedly violated an existing court order governing warrantless immigration arrests in the Beaver State, with inaccurate reports, missing records and accounts that did not match what actually happened.

The judge's loss of confidence in the agency was so pronounced that he withdrew the usual presumption that government officials have properly performed their duties.

"This presumption no longer holds for defendants," Kasubhai wrote. "Defendants are held to the same expectation as any other litigant before this court. One must earn credibility by acting with integrity."

The ruling means ICE must now provide plaintiffs challenging its arrest practices with a much broader collection of records, including administrative arrest warrants, supporting evidence, documents given to detainees and body-camera footage from civil immigration arrests conducted since Sept. 1. The agency must also turn over previously disclosed material without redactions and repeat the court's instructions to relevant employees every 30 days.

#1 | Posted by qcp at 2026-11-03 11:18 PM | Reply

@#1 ... In a 50-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled that ICE repeatedly violated an existing court order governing warrantless immigration arrests in the Beaver State, with inaccurate reports, missing records and accounts that did not match what actually happened.

The judge's loss of confidence in the agency was so pronounced that he withdrew the usual presumption that government officials have properly performed their duties. ...

Why might anyone actually be surprised at this opinion?

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-11-03 11:22 PM | Reply

More from the cited article ...

... According to Kasubhai, an ICE officer "fabricated facts in official records to justify an arrest."

The judge, appointed by President Joe Biden, said the court knows this because at an evidentiary hearing on a motion to enforce a preliminary injunction barring warrantless arrests, the ICE officer "testified under oath" that what he wrote in the official records of the arrest "was incorrect."

On the witness stand, the officer tried to minimize the error "as mere oversight," according to Kasubhai.

"This court found he lied after evaluating his live testimony and the documentary evidence," the judge said in Monday's order. "Evaluating live testimony is a time-tested method for truth finding. Written declarations are convenient, but insufficient on their own when witnesses are willing to lie." ...

[emphasis mine]

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-11-03 11:25 PM | Reply

Time to eliminate ICE.

Trust me, the country will be better than fine.

#4 | Posted by Zed at 2026-11-04 07:52 AM | Reply

The next Congress needs to gut ICE, investigate every building puchased by them and start holding the murderers and rapists hiding behind their shield accountable.

#5 | Posted by Nixon at 2026-11-04 08:58 AM | Reply

The good news is we already have plenty of prisons to send ICE to.

#6 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-11-04 08:59 AM | Reply

They certainly need to peel back ICE and get rid of the people who were clearly unqualified.

#7 | Posted by eberly at 2026-11-04 08:59 AM | Reply

"Federal judge strips ICE of presumption of honesty"

Legalese for ACAB.
Huge win for America and Separation of Powers.
That the Judicial system no longer believes the Executive Branch is being truthful.

#8 | Posted by snoofy at 2026-11-04 09:01 AM | Reply

It's a small step in the right direction but it's very unlikely that ICE agents will obey. They only have one Master and it isn't a district judge.

From past (and recent) experience, there is only one way to permanently stop the lawless behavior of Trump's Hitler-esq SS troops is through the cancellation of funding.

Cross your fingers that the new Democrat controlled House of Representatives will step up and rid the country of this scourge as soon as humanly possible.

#9 | Posted by Twinpac at 2026-11-04 10:18 PM | Reply

ICE are murderers

#10 | Posted by hamburglar at 2026-11-05 05:12 AM | Reply