Immigration

New York should protect its courts from ICE

The Protect Our Courts Act would protect immigrant New Yorkers while attending court.

An immigration advocate holds a sign during a New York City Council rally on the steps of City Hall.

An immigration advocate holds a sign during a New York City Council rally on the steps of City Hall. John McCarten for the New York City Council

Domestic violence survivors afraid to go to court to seek protection, individuals facing criminal charges denied their fair day in court, parents too scared to attend child support proceedings, tenants deciding not to file actions against their landlords – these are the consequences of federal immigration agents conducting courthouse raids and arrests of people in New York.

This is why we introduced a new bill, the Protect Our Courts Act, which over a short period of time has gained more than 60 co-sponsors in the Assembly and state Senate. The bill would regulate these egregious raids, and restore access to court proceedings that do not discriminate against immigrant and mixed-status families and communities.

Since the beginning of 2017, the Immigrant Defense Project documented a 1,200 percent increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement courthouse arrests and attempted arrests across the state. ICE agents routinely show up in large groups, dress in plainclothes and refuse to identify themselves. They’re targeting a wide range of immigrant New Yorkers attending court, including individuals with pending criminal cases, parents attending family court for child support proceedings and particularly vulnerable groups like survivors of domestic violence and rape in human trafficking court.

The threat of being arrested by ICE in or near a courthouse not only undermines the constitutional guarantee of access to courts for all, regardless of immigration status, but also creates additional burdens on the vast majority of people who have no other means to resolve their disputes.

In April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for an immediate stop to ICE’s “reckless and unconstitutional enforcement actions” and signed an executive order banning ICE arrests in state-run buildings without a judicial order. However, the order does not extend to courthouses, which are governed by the judicial branch. The Protect Our Courts Act follows suit by helping ensure access to our judicial system for all New Yorkers.

Other stakeholders – including district attorneys, judges and elected officials – have also called for state action to protect immigrants from ICE. They cite dangerous barriers to facilitating victims’ access to courts and services as well as the ability of defendants to answer charges and witnesses to participate in cases. Impacted individuals, lawyers, anti-violence advocates, direct service providers, community-based organizations, and labor unions have also supported state intervention and highlighted how the presence of ICE agents in courthouses undermines public safety.

Despite the widespread public outcry, ICE continues to display extreme disregard for the integrity of the court system. It has publicly stated that courts are a preferred place to arrest people and that no one is off limits, including victims and witnesses.

The state Legislature must act to restore access to courts for all New Yorkers. The Protect Our Courts Act (A11013A/S8925) would strengthen two existing laws that make civil arrests like these unlawful without a judicial warrant, make it unlawful for ICE agents to enter courthouses for enforcement purposes without a judicial warrant and create mechanisms for impacted individuals and the state attorney general to take legal action if these protections are violated.

New York is a state with a deep history of welcoming immigrants and fostering diversity, and is grounded in the values of justice and equal access for all. Access to the courts and to legal proceedings cannot depend on place of birth, citizenship status, skin color or indigence. These ICE raids violate these principles. ICE’s courthouse arrests are affecting immigrant and mixed-status families and communities across this state, including the most vulnerable among us: victims of violence, those racially profiled and arrested, LGBT individuals, asylum seekers, the mentally ill and the homeless.

The time for New York to restore the right to nondiscriminatory courthouse access is now, and the Protect Our Courts Act is a key step forward. Our responsibility as elected leaders is to take action.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.