U.S. immigration agents arrested two people at a Northern California courthouse, including a man detained in a hallway on his way to a hearing, in a move that appeared to flout a new state law requiring a judicial warrant to make immigration arrests inside such facilities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents made the arrests Tuesday at Sonoma County Superior Court, prompting an outcry from criminal justice and court officials who said the action undermines local authority and deters undocumented immigrants from participating in the U.S. justice system.
California is one of several states that have passed laws to push back on a Trump administration’s policy introduced two years ago to make immigration arrests inside courthouses. Last year, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to prohibit immigration arrests at courthouses without a warrant issued by a judge.
The arrests in Sonoma County came days after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced the agency will participate in ICE’s escalating immigration enforcement across the country in jurisdictions such as San Francisco with sanctuary policies.
Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch and Public Defender Kathleen Pozzi and San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin condemned the arrests for undermining public safety. County counsel Bruce Goldstein called ICE’s actions “lawless” because the agents had no warrants.
“It’s now going to put total fear in the community,” Pozzi said in an interview with the Press Democrat. “People aren’t going to come to court. Victims will refuse to show up. Witnesses will refuse to show up . cases will have to get dismissed.”
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