Photo credit: ICE
On June 10, 2020, Judge Jed S. Rakoff, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, declared Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) policy of courthouse arrests to be illegal and enjoined ICE from making arrests of anyone on the grounds of New York State courthouses or of anyone required to travel to a courthouse as a party or witness to a lawsuit.
Judge Rakoff’s declaration comes after the New York Police Department (NYPD) admitted that ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents were protecting police precincts during protests following the murder of George Floyd.
Last fall, the New York Immigration Coalition joined the Legal Aid Society and others on a lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction halting ICE courthouse enforcement. Since 2017, ICE courthouse arrests have skyrocketed by over 1700% in New York, leading to a widespread chilling effect on non-citizens’ willingness to initiate and participate in the judicial system.
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