Bigs ask feds to keep out of N.Y. courts

THEY WANT to put the ice on ICE. Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are calling out U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to stop harassing noncitizen defendants and their families while in state courts. But as they held a news conference Thursday slamming ICE for its tactics, federal immigration agents grabbed another defendant just a few blocks away. A man facing misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child and other charges was arrested outside of Brooklyn Criminal Court, officials confirmed. “They were in plainclothes and followed a defense attorney and his client down the elevator and outside and surrounded him outside,” said Lee Wang of the Immigrant Defense Project, who took part in the news conference. “It shows how pervasive the practice has become.” It wasn’t clear if the man, who was represented by Legal Aid, had a deportation order. Schneiderman (photo) said in a statement that “if the Trump Administration continues to arrest people in the heart of our justice system, immigrants will be less likely to serve as witnesses or report crimes — and that leaves us all at risk.” A recent survey by the Immigrant Defense Project found there have been about 60 arrests and attempted arrests in New York State courts so far this year, with at least eight of them in Brooklyn. Only 11 arrests were reported statewide in 2016, and 14 in 2015.