Federal immigration lawsuits reach record highs

PHOENIX — The number of legal challenges to detentions in Arizona and nationwide has grown to record highs.

Immigration Attorney Hugo Balderas Ibarra said when someone is picked up by ICE, typical bond hearings are “pretty much out the window.”

“These policies that the administration is implementing violate the due process, violate fifth amendment,” Balderas Ibarra said.

This has led attorneys representing detained individuals to file what’s known as a habeas corpus petition.

“A habeas corpus petition is something in federal court that says the federal government is detaining me or confining me somewhere without basis in law,” New Frontier Immigration Law founder Hillary Walsh said.

Walsh said she filed three petitions on Friday alone.

“One of these is for an 18-year-old kid who has no criminal history,” Walsh said. “He came here to seek asylum a few years ago, and went through the whole process legally, asked at the border, did everything right, and now he’s detained.”

Data by TRAC shows the surge in the federal filings alleging illegal detention over the past year.

From 105 nationally in March 2025, to 9,059 the same month this year.

In Arizona, more than 1,100 cases have been filed between October and March, according to TRAC.

“A lot more people who are being detained, but we also have a whole other layer to the process for getting them out if they’re eligible for bond, and so that clogs up the whole federal court system,” Walsh said.