Tougher to arrest immigs in courts

ALBANY — A new law in New York blocks federal immigration enforcement officials from making arrests at courthouses without a judicial warrant.

Gov. Cuomo on Tuesday signed the Protect Our Courts Act, which prohibits Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from arresting anyone going to or leaving a court proceeding, whether they are a defendant, witness or a relative, unless they have a signed warrant.

Courthouse arrests by ICE officials dramatically increased under President Trump, and a federal judge ordered the agency to stop the practice earlier this year. The measure enshrines the ban into law.

“This new law is a powerful rebuke to the outgoing Trump administration and their immigration policies that have undermined our judicial system,” said sponsor Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan). “After today, New York’s courts will no longer be hunting grounds for federal agents attempting to round up and initiate deportation proceedings immigrants.”

According to a report by the Immigrant Defense Project, ICE made 1,700% more arrests in 2019 in and around courthouses than they did in 2016, before Trump took office.

While the New York State court system issued a directive prohibiting warrantless arrests inside courthouses, nearly half of the 2019 ICE busts occurred after that directive was in place, according to the group.

“The individual rights granted to all New Yorkers by the U.S. Constitution should not be dependent upon who holds the office of the presidency,” said sponsor Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages (D-Nassau). “There is a real and tangible fear among the immigrant community that the courts are not safe from ICE intervention, often creating a dangerous barrier for justice.”

The measure doesn’t impede an arrest warrant from being authorized by a judge. Instead, it blocks immigration-related courthouse arrests that are warrantless or based on administrative warrants. against