No ICE Arrests In Courthouses Without Judicial Warrants, N.Y. Court Directive Says

April 17, 201910:38 PM ET
RICHARD GONZALES

The New York State Office of Court Administration issued new rules Wednesday curtailing the ability of federal immigration officials to arrest immigrants in state courthouses without warrants.

The rules are the latest development in the ongoing controversy over the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in state and local courthouses to arrest immigrants appearing there on unrelated cases.

The directive requires ICE agents to show a federal judicial warrant or order to a New York judge or court attorney before the arrest.

"This rule change is a big win for thousands of immigrants and their families across New York State who will no longer be sitting ducks in the courtroom," said Terry Lawson, Director of the Family and Immigration Unit at Bronx Legal Services, the Bronx office of Legal Services NYC in a statement. "We can now advise the women, men, and children we represent that ICE cannot arrest them in New York State courts without a warrant with their name on it, signed by a judge."

ICE agents often rely on administrative warrants that are issued by the agency rather than judicial warrants, approved by a court.

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