Overview of federal habeas practice, followed by a discussion of recent developments and trends and practical considerations for litigating immigration habeas petitions across California’s four federal districts.

Yesterday, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to permit the return to the United States of Esteban Rios Sosa under the Deferred Action status he held when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported him last fall.

Today, a federal court issued an order to appoint a Special Master and Independent Monitor to oversee government compliance with the Flores Settlement Agreement.

Esteban Rios Sosa, a deported father of a former U.S. Marine sergeant, filed a federal lawsuit seeking an order that will permit him to lawfully reunite with his family in the United States and return to the protections of his Deferred Action status, which the government ignored when it deported him last fall.

A brief filed yesterday by attorneys representing children protected under the Flores Settlement Agreement provides proof that ICE's 2026 Annual Report is a misleading account of conditions at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

On May 20, 2026, the court in Immigration Center for Women and Children v. Noem (“ICWC”) issued an order granting class certification and classwide preliminary relief under section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act, temporarily restoring protections for certain immigrant survivors with pending petitions. The order addressed the 2025 Guidance issued by then-Acting ICE Director Caleb Vitello and two related Trump administration policies resulting in the routine arrest, de

On May 20, 2026, the court in ICWC v. Noem issued an order temporarily restoring protections for certain immigrant survivors with pending petitions. Class counsel and the Organizational Plaintiffs have prepared templates that we hope will help practitioners and class members implement the order in their individual cases.

Trump Administration Seeks to Terminate Protections for Children Despite Harrowing Stories From Children in Detention

On June 2nd, Flores counsel will argue before the Ninth Circuit against the government’s attempt to terminate the Flores Settlement Agreement - the primary safeguard against abuse, neglect, and prolonged imprisonment of immigrant children.

Yesterday, a federal judge in the Central District of California issued an order protecting immigrant survivors of domestic violence, trafficking, and other serious crimes on a nationwide basis.