Judge says ICE agents should testify under oath after officer admits false arrest record

A federal judge in Oregon wants more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to testify in person. He found that one officer lied in an official arrest record, and he said live testimony helped expose it ¹.

U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai, a Biden appointee, wrote that courts should hear directly from government officers when their accounts are disputed. Written statements alone are not enough, he said ¹.

Written declarations are convenient, but insufficient on their own when witnesses are willing to lie.

What the officer said under oath

The ruling enforces the judge's earlier order limiting warrantless immigration arrests in Oregon. That order requires officers to first decide, based on the individual's circumstances, that a person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained ¹.

An arrest report by an ICE deportation officer identified as J.G. said officers knew who the passenger was before they approached the vehicle, and that a supervisor had issued a warrant for his arrest. On the stand, J.G. testified he did not know the man existed when officers stopped the car and that there was no warrant at the time ¹.

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J.G. said he copied much of the account from the driver's arrest report and failed to fix it. The judge rejected the claim that this was a mistake ¹. A Justice Department lawyer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariana Garousi, had argued at a September hearing that J.G. did not act maliciously and that the word "lie" sounded like he did it on purpose ².

He lied in an official record to facilitate the impression he was conducting a lawful warrant-based arrest

A judge withdraws the benefit of the doubt

Kasubhai said he would no longer give the defendants the "presumption of regularity." That is the general rule that courts assume officials did their jobs properly unless evidence shows otherwise ¹. He wrote that the evidence in this case proves the presumption no longer holds for them ¹.

He also found that ICE's counts cannot be trusted. ICE reported 13 warrantless arrests over six months, but the judge concluded there were "significantly more than thirteen." Court filings show 574 ICE arrests in Oregon between Feb. 5 and July 31, including 504 that ICE classed as noncustodial ¹.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, the group Innovation Law Lab, said ICE had made hundreds of warrantless arrests since the February order. They said the government had sent documentation for only 24 of them ². Government lawyers deny that ICE failed to comply ².

The judge did not find every disputed arrest unlawful. In one case, he ruled officers had reasonable suspicion to briefly detain a man they first mistook for the person they were seeking ¹.

What happens next

Newsweek said it had contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE for comment by email ¹. The administration has accused judges who block its policies of being "activist judges" ¹.

Kasubhai is not alone. In September, a federal judge in Massachusetts said that after "repeated misrepresentations by ICE officers," the court would no longer give ICE the presumption of regularity ¹.

That matters because arrest reports, known as I-213 forms, are often how immigration cases begin. The judge wrote that the misconduct "calls into question the veracity of all I-213 forms completed by ICE officers in Oregon" ¹. This is one judge's finding in one case, and the government may appeal.

The Record

1. Feb 5, 2026Judge Kasubhai's earlier order limited warrantless civil immigration arrests in Oregon to cases where a person is likely to escape ¹.
2. Sep 22, 2026At a hearing, ICE officer J.G. admitted his report falsely said he knew the passenger's name and status before the stop ².
3. Nov 3, 2026Newsweek reports the judge found 'intentional, coordinated falsification' and withdrew the presumption of regularity ¹.

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<h2>Judge says ICE agents should testify under oath after officer admits false arrest record</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Courts Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/judge-says-ice-agents-should-testify-under-oath-after-officer-admits-false-arrest">The GOP Files</a> on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.</em></p> <p>A federal judge in Oregon wants more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to testify in person. He found that one officer lied in an official arrest record, and he said live testimony helped expose it .</p> <p>U.S. District Judge Mustafa T. Kasubhai, a Biden appointee, wrote that courts should hear directly from government officers when their accounts are disputed. Written statements alone are not enough, he said .</p> <blockquote><p>Written declarations are convenient, but insufficient on their own when witnesses are willing to lie.</p><p>&mdash; Mustafa T. Kasubhai, U.S. District Judge, District of Oregon</p></blockquote> <h2>What the officer said under oath</h2> <p>The ruling enforces the judge&#39;s earlier order limiting warrantless immigration arrests in Oregon. That order requires officers to first decide, based on the individual&#39;s circumstances, that a person is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained .</p> <p>An arrest report by an ICE deportation officer identified as J.G. said officers knew who the passenger was before they approached the vehicle, and that a supervisor had issued a warrant for his arrest. On the stand, J.G. testified he did not know the man existed when officers stopped the car and that there was no warrant at the time .</p> <p>J.G. said he copied much of the account from the driver&#39;s arrest report and failed to fix it. The judge rejected the claim that this was a mistake . A Justice Department lawyer, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariana Garousi, had argued at a September hearing that J.G. did not act maliciously and that the word &quot;lie&quot; sounded like he did it on purpose .</p> <blockquote><p>He lied in an official record to facilitate the impression he was conducting a lawful warrant-based arrest</p><p>&mdash; Mustafa T. Kasubhai, U.S. District Judge, District of Oregon</p></blockquote> <h2>A judge withdraws the benefit of the doubt</h2> <p>Kasubhai said he would no longer give the defendants the &quot;presumption of regularity.&quot; That is the general rule that courts assume officials did their jobs properly unless evidence shows otherwise . He wrote that the evidence in this case proves the presumption no longer holds for them .</p> <p>He also found that ICE&#39;s counts cannot be trusted. ICE reported 13 warrantless arrests over six months, but the judge concluded there were &quot;significantly more than thirteen.&quot; Court filings show 574 ICE arrests in Oregon between Feb. 5 and July 31, including 504 that ICE classed as noncustodial .</p> <p>Lawyers for the plaintiffs, the group Innovation Law Lab, said ICE had made hundreds of warrantless arrests since the February order. They said the government had sent documentation for only 24 of them . Government lawyers deny that ICE failed to comply .</p> <p>The judge did not find every disputed arrest unlawful. In one case, he ruled officers had reasonable suspicion to briefly detain a man they first mistook for the person they were seeking .</p> <h2>What happens next</h2> <p>Newsweek said it had contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE for comment by email . The administration has accused judges who block its policies of being &quot;activist judges&quot; .</p> <p>Kasubhai is not alone. In September, a federal judge in Massachusetts said that after &quot;repeated misrepresentations by ICE officers,&quot; the court would no longer give ICE the presumption of regularity .</p> <p>That matters because arrest reports, known as I-213 forms, are often how immigration cases begin. The judge wrote that the misconduct &quot;calls into question the veracity of all I-213 forms completed by ICE officers in Oregon&quot; . This is one judge&#39;s finding in one case, and the government may appeal.</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/judge-says-ice-agents-should-testify-under-oath-after-officer-admits-false-arrest">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/judge-says-ice-agents-should-testify-under-oath-after-officer-admits-false-arrest.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. Newsweek, “Judge Calls for More ICE Agents on Witness Stand: 'Willing To Lie'” (2026-11-03). newsweek.com/judge-calls-more-ice-agents-witness-stand-willi
2. OPB, “Federal judge to decide if ICE violated court order over warrantless arrests in Oregon” (2026-09-22). opb.org/article/2026/09/22/immigration-customs-enforcement-o

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