ICE Detention Cases Begin in North Dakota Courts

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Amid the flood of lawsuits across the country challenging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions, a trickle of cases are moving through North Dakota federal court.

President Donald Trump since taking office has taken sweeping action to ramp up the detention and deportation of immigrants. The number of people in detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased more than 75% from January 2025 to January 2026, according to the American Immigration Council.

There have been seven emergency petitions filed in North Dakota seeking court review of ICE detentions in the past year. All were brought in the last three months. In one, attorneys alleged that immigration agents detained a man lawfully living in the country as a refugee.

The North Dakota Monitor is not identifying the plaintiffs in any of the cases. Several immigration attorneys involved in the suits said media exposure could put their clients in danger.