U.S. District Judge Sunshine Sykes has accused the Trump administration of terrorizing immigrants. The federal judge slammed the president and his Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for violating laws to further their hardline mass deportation agenda.
Sykes, who served as a judge of the California Superior Court for Riverside County, has said that the administration has “extended its violence on its own citizens.”
She claimed that the Trump administration violated a ruling she delivered in December 2025. She had ruled that undocumented immigrants should be given a fair chance for release. Her December ruling stated that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should inform detainees that they would be eligible for bond. In addition, they should also be allowed to have a phone call with an immigration attorney for an hour, the judge said.
“‘Worst of the worst’ is an inaccurate description of most of those affected by DHS and ICE’s operations.”
Judge Sunshine Sykes rejected the Trump administration’s portrayal of migrant detainees as she tossed a ruling that had backed broad detention powers.…
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 19, 2026
The agency told The Associated Press that the Supreme Court had “repeatedly overruled” lower courts when it comes to the issue of mandatory detention. “ICE has the law and the facts on its side, and it adheres to all court decisions until it ultimately gets them shot down by the highest court in the land,” the DHS statement said.
Previously, many detained immigrants with criminal records were allowed to make a bond request. However, doing so has been incredibly difficult under the Trump administration. On Wednesday, February 18, Sykes said that this treatment toward immigrants “harms their families, communities and the fabric of this very nation.”
“The threats posed by the executive branch cannot be viewed in isolation,” her decision said. The judge also claimed that the administration is actually failing to deport the “worst of the worsts,” as they say; rather, they are detaining those with no or minimal criminal record.
“Americans have expressed deep concerns over unlawful, wanton acts by the executive branch,” the judge wrote. “Beyond its terror against noncitizens, the executive branch has extended its violence on its own citizens, killing two American citizens – Renée Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota,” she added.
NEW: Minnesota federal judge has found SAUSA Matthew Isihara in civil contempt for violating her order in a habeas case, following his failure to return an ICE detainee’s identification docs. Isihara is one of the JAG attorneys assisting the USAO in Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/Jz7jzYyanY
— Fallon Gallagher (@falgallagher) February 18, 2026
Sykes is not the only federal judge who has criticized the government for its treatment toward undocumented immigrants. Recently, U.S. District Judge Laura Provinzino held a Trump administration lawyer in civil contempt of court. Matthew Isihara, who serves as a special assistant United States attorney, admitted failing to return the documents of Rigoberto Soto Jimenez after he was released from ICE detention.
Another U.S. District Judge, Michael Farbiarz, accused the administration of failing to meet court-ordered deadlines for bond hearings. As per The Associated Press, the judge said that out of 550 cases, at least 12 have been sidelined since December 5. “Judicial orders should never be violated,” Farbiarz wrote.
Following Sykes’ ruling, attorney Matt Adams said he was hopeful that it would remove mandatory detention. “Certainly in the normal course of things, the immigration judges would return to granting bond hearings,” said Adams.
