A federal judge has stayed a Department of Homeland Security policy that generally stopped collecting biometrics from detained people with pending U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services applications. The order restores the earlier collection arrangements while a legal challenge proceeds.
U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali granted the stay under the Administrative Procedure Act in J.Z. v. Department of Homeland Security. He declined to issue an additional preliminary injunction, finding the stay sufficient to restore the prior position on the record before the court.
The challenged policy was introduced in December 2025. It generally ended biometric collection for people in DHS custody pursuing USCIS immigration benefits, while retaining collection for certain applications submitted through immigration courts.
DHS also removed policy-manual guidance assigning Immigration and Customs Enforcement responsibility for collecting required biometrics from detained USCIS applicants. According to the court’s preliminary findings, ICE stopped routinely transporting those applicants to appointments, although collection continued in some ad hoc cases.
The plaintiffs have pending applications involving permanent residency, special immigrant juvenile status, visas for trafficking and crime survivors, or asylum-related family benefits. Their applications require biometric information, including fingerprints, photographs and signatures, for identity verification and background checks.
That created a procedural obstacle: detained applicants could not attend their scheduled biometric appointments, while missed appointments could lead USCIS to treat an application as abandoned. The court found the policy exposed plaintiffs to continued detention and possible deportation before their eligibility could be assessed.
Ali concluded that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in showing the policy was arbitrary and capricious. He found that DHS had not adequately explained the change or considered its effect on applicants unable to provide biometrics while in custody.
The government argued that applicants could attend appointments or ask ICE officers to collect their information voluntarily. The judge rejected that reasoning in light of their detention and the absence of a clear explanation of when ICE would agree to facilitate collection.
The agency had justified the policy as deterring frivolous claims and providing operational consistency. The court found that explanation did not account for valid applications or the role of biometric checks in verifying identity and eligibility.
The stay covers the policy announcement and its implementation, including manual revisions and the removal of ICE’s collection obligation. It is interim relief pending resolution of the case, not a final merits judgment. DHS must submit a report on compliance with the order by October 21.
Sources: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
