United States v. Franklin County Municipal Court

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is asking a federal court to block a policy that bars civil arrests on Franklin County Municipal Court (FCMC) property in Columbus, Ohio. Represented by Public Rights Project (PRP) and the Columbus city attorney’s office, FCMC is fighting the DOJ’s request, defending its policy that keeps the courthouse open and accessible to the community. 

The DOJ sued FCMC in August 2026, claiming the policy unlawfully obstructs federal immigration enforcement. The DOJ has now asked the court for a preliminary injunction while the case proceeds.

In opposition, the municipal court explains the reasons that an injunction would be inappropriate, including:

• Federal law doesn’t require courthouses to be available for civil immigration enforcement, nor does it give federal officers the unqualified right to conduct arrests in state and local courthouses.
• The 10th Amendment prohibits the federal government from commandeering FCMC property and staff. 
• State law already prohibits civil arrests at courts. (The policy, like the state law, excludes criminal arrests made with a warrant signed by a judge.) 

Why it matters:
FCMC judges adopted the policy after federal immigration enforcement disrupted court operations, frightened staff and parties to cases, and threatened public safety. In one instance, an asylum seeker who was in the country legally was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the court’s hallway after pleading guilty to a speeding violation. 

ICE activity at FCMC has threatened the fair administration of justice for the entire community. It’s become harder for the Columbus city attorney’s office to get witnesses to testify and to successfully prosecute cases, imperiling public safety in Columbus. Some defendants, afraid of immigration enforcement, have also fled the courthouse or been arrested in the midst of proceedings, stalling cases.

Courts have repeatedly rejected the argument that declining to give assistance amounts to blocking federal immigration enforcement. In a significant prior victory, the city of Boston, represented by PRP, successfully defeated a DOJ challenge to Boston’s Trust Act in May 2026. 

Read the opposition brief.