Cuomo signs measure limiting courthouse ICE arrests
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ICE agents arrested a man outside Queens Criminal Court in January 2019. Photo shared with the Eagle
By David Brand
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday signed legislation prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests inside New York courthouses without a judicial warrant.
The measure, known as the Protect Our Courts Act, was a longtime goal of immigrants’ rights groups, and had explicit support from district attorneys in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Manhattan who said the specter of ICE agents in and around courthouses can discourage witnesses and victims from coming forward.
“This legislation will ensure every New Yorker can have their day in court without fear of being unfairly targeted by ICE or other federal immigration authorities,” Cuomo said in a statement.
ICE agents have frequently patrolled courthouse hallways and adjacent streets in Queens in recent years. Attorneys have sent the Eagle photos of a January 2019 arrest on the 82nd Avenue side of the criminal court building, for example. A 2018 video shows court officers helping plainclothes ICE agents apprehend a man on the plaza along Queens Boulevard.
A January report by the Immigrant Defense Project identified at least 203 ICE arrests in and around courthouses statewide in 2019. Queens accounted for the second highest number of any county in the state, with 34. Brooklyn had the most with 38. The arrests included a pregnant mother from Queens Village who was apprehended outside Queens Family Court in 2019 and nearly deported.
At least seven people were arrested inside courthouses, including one in Queens Criminal Court, in 2019, according to reports compiled by the Office of Court Administration.
“For too long, ICE has conducted raids with impunity — misleading people by using ruses pretending they are local police, catching people off guard in their homes in the early morning, and taking advantage of the court system to advance its deportation agenda,” said IDP Interim Executive Director Mizue Aizeki. “ICE thrives by vilifying and criminalizing immigrants.”
The measure does not prevent arrests altogether, however. ICE agents must first obtain a warrant signed by a judge naming a specific individual. The legislation codifies an April 2019 directive from OCA.
Nevertheless, the new law is a significant step for protecting non-citizens attending court as respondents, witnesses, victims and defendants, social justice groups said.
“Today marks a new day for all New Yorkers seeking to participate in our judicial system,” said the Legal Aid Society in a statement. “New York has sent a clear message to federal immigration agents, and all those who propagate nationalist and xenophobic ideas, that ICE’s illegal enforcement tactics are not welcome and will not be tolerated here.”
ICE acknowledged receipt of requests for comment but did not provide a response for this story.
*UPDATE [Thursday 12/17 at 11 a.m]
An ICE official said the agency is reviewing the new law.
“Restricting ICE’s access to courthouses only increases risk to public safety and subjects the public to more visible enforcement efforts, because it forces ICE law enforcement officers to make arrests out in the community rather than the controlled environment of a courthouse,” the official said.
