California chief justice asks ICE to quit 'stalking' courthouses
The chief justice of the California Supreme Court is calling on federal immigration officials to stop "stalking undocumented immigrants" in the state's courthouses.
In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Thursday, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said courthouses "should not be used as bait in the necessary enforcement of our country’s immigration laws.”
“Enforcement policies that include stalking courthouses and arresting undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of whom pose no risk to public safety, are neither safe nor fair," she writes. "They not only compromise our core value of fairness but they undermine the judiciary’s ability to provide equal access to justice. I respectfully request that you refrain from this sort of enforcement in California's courthouses.”
She describes the court as the main point of contact for millions of vulnerable Californians in times of anxiety, stress and crisis.
“Crime victims, victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence, witnesses to crimes who are aiding law enforcement, limited-English speakers, unrepresented litigants and children and families all come to our courts seeking justice and due process of law," she says. "As finders of fact, trial courts strive to mitigate fear to ensure fairness and protect legal rights. Our work is critical for ensuring public safety and the efficient administration of justice.”
The presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at courthouses, and the perception that people could face deportation when showing up in legal settings, could have a profound impact on public safety, Cantil-Sakauye suggests.
Since January and the call for tougher measures against undocumented immigrants by the new Trump administration, the chief justice has received several reports from lower court judges, private attorneys and Legal Aid lawyers that ICE agents are arresting people after court proceedings, according to Cathal Conneely, a public information officer for the Judicial Council of California, The Sacramento Bee reports.
“The chief justice is not in any way questioning the right or authority of the U.S. attorney general or the Department of Homeland Security to do what they’re doing, she’s just raising concern with the judicial branch of California that this is taking place within courthouses and courtrooms,” Conneely says.
The letter comes amid a series of reports of arrests at courthouses in California, Oregon and Texas as federal immigration agents have been called on to step up deportations.
Last month, immigration agents in Texas arrested a woman at an El Paso courthouse while she was obtaining a protection order against an alleged abuser. The arrest sparked an outcry from victim's advocates, saying it would dissuade others from coming forward to report abuse for fear of being deported.
ICE, as a policy, directs its agents to avoid making arrests in "sensitive locations" like churches or hospitals, but the mandate does not cover courthouses.
The agency weighs many factors when deciding where to make an arrest, including safety for the officers and the community and whether authorities have the person's home or work address, Virginia Kice, an agency spokeswoman, said in a statement.
"While ICE does arrest targets at courthouses, generally it's only after investigating officers have exhausted other options," she said.
Many of those taken into custody at courthouses have criminal convictions but are no longer turned over to federal agents by local law enforcement as they were some years ago, according to Kice.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon calls ICE’s tactics “very shortsighted” because some undocumented immigrants will simply avoid court for fear of being arrested, the Los Angeles Times reports. “The chilling impact that has on an entire community is devastating."
Contributing: Associated Press