The Michigan Supreme Court ordered that as of May 1, no one can be arrested on a civil matter on their way to, from or at a state court.
The order for the rule change was decided 6-1 by the court, and immigrant rights advocates say it helps protect immigrants amid the Trump administration’s enforcement efforts.
Michigan Supreme Court Justice Brian Zahra wrote the lone dissent, raising concerns with the state’s powers in federal arrests and legal questions court deputies may face.
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But opponents call the change a “false assurance” to immigrants that could put local law enforcement in legal jeopardy.
The Michigan Supreme Court ordered that as of May 1, subpoenaed witnesses, attorneys, jurors and those otherwise involved in legal proceedings cannot be arrested for a civil matter while on their way to, at, or leaving tasks at courthouses. That includes filing documents or going to mediations, custody evaluations or settlement conferences.
Most arrests in recent years by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations were civil immigration arrests, according to several annual agency reports through fiscal year 2024. Such arrests can rely on civil or administrative warrants that are not signed by a judge, but don’t always require it.
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Michigan justice calls immigration-related rule change ‘ill-advised’
Concurring with the 6-1 decision, Justice Noah Hood wrote the court rule change does not prevent criminal arrests, arrests based on warrants signed by judges, or detainers. (A detainer is when immigration agents can request another law enforcement agency delay release of an immigrant in their custody.) It also doesn’t prevent the state Legislature from weighing in.
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The rule change largely stems from a statute already on the books in Michigan but provides definitions of civil arrests and places people are required to attend.
The statute itself makes it a contempt of court to conduct any civil arrest on someone on their way to, from or at a place they are required to attend. It also makes such an arrest void.
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