Judge blocks Biden administration effort to curtail ICE arrests and deportations

A federal judge delivered another setback to the Biden administration's immigration agenda on Thursday, blocking a set of rules that limited who deportation agents should detain and deport from the country. 

U.S. District Court Judge Drew Tipton prohibited federal officials from enforcing two directives that instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to focus on arresting recent border-crossers, as well as immigrants deemed to threaten public safety or national security. Under the new so-called "enforcement priorities," ICE agents were required to obtain supervisory approval before arresting immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission who did not fall within the three specified categories.