As civil rights groups have filed a petition to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests at Massachusetts courthouses, the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has issued an alert stating that “the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court announced that ICE will now be coming into our local courts to make arrests.” While ICE formalized the practice of courthouse arrests on paper earlier this year, it’s been done against the protests of civil rights advocates and other judges alike.
“Immigration arrests,” California’s Supreme Court chief justice wrote last year, “or the fear of arrests at or near courthouses, disrupt court activities and the lives of those seeking justice.” In Ohio’s case, the email from Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor indicates ICE is proceeding, “the result of several months of meetings between ICE representatives and members of the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators.” ICE has already been making courthouse arrests in Ohio, much to the horror of witnesses:
It happened last week outside Mayor’s Court in Hilliard, where two federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers are seen on surveillance video chasing an immigrant and putting him in handcuffs. Witnesses to the event and the attorney for the Hispanic man thought they were witnessing an assault.
“They were dressed very informally, looked like construction workers. One of them wore a hoodie,” says attorney Joseph Mas, who was representing the man taken into custody on a simple traffic violation. ” I do handle other far more dangerous cases that unfortunately end up with witnesses getting hurt. I was afraid I was in the middle of one of those instances.”
ICE’s January directive states they’ll “enter courthouses only for specific targets. Family, friends and witnesses won’t be picked up for deportation but ICE leaves a caveat for ‘special circumstances.’ The policy, signed by ICE acting director Thomas Homan, says immigration agents should generally avoid arrests in non-criminal areas of the court, like family court and small claims, unless it supervisor approves.” Judge O’Connor’s memo asks that any non-compliance to the directive by ICE be reported to the court's Office of the Administrative Director, but since when has ICE ever had any regard for rules—even its own?