{"id":6991,"date":"2019-04-10T14:44:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T14:44:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?p=6991"},"modified":"2023-12-04T18:38:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-04T23:38:50","slug":"ice-courthouse-arrests-immigrant-access-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/safe-horizon-in-the-news\/ice-courthouse-arrests-immigrant-access-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"ICE Courthouse Arrests Have Chilling Effect on Immigrants’ Access to Justice, Report Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

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amNY<\/em>
\nBy Lauren Cook<\/em>
\nApril 10, 2019<\/em><\/p>\n

An astronomical spike in courthouse arrests<\/a> by Immigration Customs and Enforcement officers is having a devastating impact on multiple facets of the judicial system, according to a new report released on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Immigrant Defense Project documented a 1,736 percent increase<\/a> in ICE operations in and around New York courthouses between 2016 and 2018. A majority of those operations took place in New York City, according to the nonprofit, with Brooklyn and Queens leading the way for the entire state.<\/p>\n

The report by ICE Out of Courts<\/a>, a coalition of over 100 organizations and entities, details how ICE operations, though legal, have had an alarmingly harmful impact on court functions while deterring\u00a0some of the immigrant community\u2019s most vulnerable members from seeking help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe different perspectives offered in this report highlight the havoc that ICE’s practices are wreaking on the court system in New York State,\u201d Mizue Aizeki, acting executive director of the Immigrant Defense Project, said in a statement Wednesday. \u201cJudges, public defenders, district attorneys, anti-violence advocates, elected officials, and others have all repeatedly called on ICE to stop courthouse arrests. Yet ICE continues to refuse, instead escalating courthouse arrests and spreading its disruptive and harmful tactics throughout New York State.\u201d<\/p>\n

ICE officials, meanwhile, contend their courthouse operations are consistent with law enforcement practices nationwide, adding that such practices are often a last resort after exhausting other options.<\/p>\n

\u201cU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a courthouse policy in place<\/a>, and plans on adhering to its guidance in accordance with U.S. law and Department of Homeland Security\u00a0policy,\u201d ICE officials said Wednesday in response to the coalition\u2019s report.<\/p>\n

The coalition spent the past year collecting data for the report and surveying judges, district attorneys, public defenders, elected officials, and legal advocates. Among the report\u2019s most alarming findings, according to the coalition:<\/p>\n