Attorneys File for Class Certification, Seek to Block ICE Re-Detention Practice at Check-In Appointments in the Southern District of California
San Diego, CA – Attorneys representing immigrants who were unlawfully re-detained at check-in appointments by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in San Diego are asking a federal court to temporarily block ICE from continuing to re-detain other immigrants who were previously released, while a lawsuit moves forward.
The motion, filed today in Fanfan v. Noem in the Southern District of California, was brought by the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law (CHRCL) on behalf of three individuals—Chancely Fanfan, María Maldonado Cruz, and Elesban Angel Mendez—who were subjected to the practice last fall.
A second motion filed today seeks to certify a class of all immigrants situated similarly to the named plaintiffs in the Southern District of California. The class includes people who have been or could be re-detained by ICE at check-in appointments, without regard to whether changed circumstances justify their re-detention. Class certification has the potential to provide broader relief by temporarily stopping ICE from continuing this practice going forward on a class-wide basis.
“We hope today’s filings make clear that ICE’s unlawful practice of arbitrarily re-detaining people in our community has affected at least dozens of others and will continue until the court puts a stop to it. We hope the court will take this opportunity to temporarily block the practice as we move forward in pursuit of more permanent relief for our clients and the countless others who ICE has punished for doing exactly what it has asked of them,” said Monika Y. Langarica, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Immigration Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law.
At issue is ICE's practice of re-detaining individuals without a new impartial review of the individual’s case to determine whether relevant factors justify the re-detention. The lawsuit challenges ICE’s practice as a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment, the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
In December 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw granted a temporary restraining order requiring the release of the three named plaintiffs in Fanfan v. Noem.
"Our Constitution protects us all from the government taking away our freedom without justification. ICE's change in policy to now target and imprison immigrants who are following all the rules makes a mockery of this bedrock principle. We are asking the court to restore order and prevent the unnecessary suffering of immigrant families in our region while our challenge to this unlawful policy proceeds," said Bardis Vakili, Legal Director at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law.
Since the lawsuit was filed in November, ICE has continued targeting immigrants who appear at scheduled check-ins, using these appointments as traps to re-detain individuals who pose no danger to their communities and are not flight risks. This practice has torn apart families and livelihoods, in violation of due process and federal laws.
Founded in 2020, the Center for Immigration Law and Policy (CILP) at the UCLA School of Law expands the law school's role as a national leader in immigration law and policy, generating innovative ideas at the intersection of immigration scholarship and practice and serving as a hub for transforming those ideas into meaningful changes in immigration policy.
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