The risk of being detained by an ICE agent in an immigration court or judicial court, it is once again a feared reality for undocumented immigrants due to a new directive from the immigration agency.
The provisional guide: “Civil Immigration Control Actions in or near Courts” issued on January 21, gives the “green light” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to carry out their arrests within the courts and in their surroundings.
On January 20, Trump signed a series of executive orders Among them, it gives “carte blanche” to immigration police to carry out their operations in areas that were considered sensitive, such as churches, hospitals and schools.
These measures put an end to the Biden administration's ban on ICE operations in courts and sensitive areas, due to the damage they had caused during Trump's first term.
The new directive was also sent by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees more than 70 immigration courts in the United States and more than 734 judges.
Who are the targets of possible arrests?
This provisional guide described in a memo The ICE notice signed by Acting Director Caleb Vitello notes that other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies routinely become involved in actions in or near courthouses because many people are charged with unrelated civil or criminal violations.
ICE argues that when it engages in courthouse operations, it can reduce security risks to the public, Immigrants who show up, and the law enforcement officers themselves.
The agency specifies that those who are subject to arrest by immigration agents in courts are those who represent a threat to public safety, convicted criminals, gang members, those who ignore a deportation order and those who have re-entered illegally after being deported.
Prepare yourself with reliable information and useful resources: Check the Immigration Guide of ELNC
Collateral arrests
However, it is clarified that arrests are not limited to these undocumented immigrants, but ICE agents are urged to detain family members or friends who accompany them, or who are witnesses in a procedure, if the agents consider it necessary and examining it on a case-by-case basis.
Officers are also advised to avoid, as far as possible, causing alarm in court facilities.
When jurisdictions do not cooperate with ICE
The guidance states that immigration enforcement actions in court “are often necessary when jurisdictions refuse to cooperate with ICE, including when such jurisdictions refuse to honor immigration detainers and transfer aliens directly into ICE custody.”
According to a report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) Updated January 7, 2025, Buncombe, Chatham, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Orange, Wake, and Watauga counties are considered “sanctuary jurisdictions,” although not officially as state laws prohibit them.
When can these arrests be made?
According to the agency, its agents may carry out arrests at or near courthouses when they have credible information leading them to believe that the alien(s) in question are or will be present at a specific location, and when such action is not prohibited by the laws imposed by the jurisdiction in which the operation will be carried out.
You may be interested: City of Raleigh elects new police chief
They recommend going to court with a lawyer
Marina Castillo, an immigration attorney at the Castillo Immigration Law Firm, advises undocumented immigrants to go to immigration court in Charlotte accompanied by an attorney.
“I recommend going to court with a lawyer, obviously because of all the things that are happening, and also because the risk of presenting oneself also depends on the status of the process," Castillo told Enlace Latino NC.
The lawyer explained that, generally, for the first hearing that a person has, they do not consider it a risk to go without a lawyer, if they do not have a criminal record or have never been arrested.
However, for other audiences it is always required go to a lawyer, due to the rigorous legal procedures in immigration courts.
Any minor crime is a risk
But the people who would be most at risk of showing up to court without a lawyer are those who have criminal records or have been arrested even for offenses minors.
“There have been various criteria in the past, but now the criteria with all these executive orders is that anything, even a DWI could be a problem, when in the past it wasn’t,” Castillo warned.
What happens if you don't show up to court?
The ICE measure could discourage undocumented immigrants from showing up for court dates, even if they committed a minor crime, for fear of being detained and even deported, or from coming forward as witnesses or victims of a crime.
But the consequences of not showing up to court would be dire. “If a person does not show up on the day of the immigration court hearing, then they will have a deportation order in absence", Castillo warned.
In this case, immigration courts also face challenges, with the problem of case overload.
In the case of the Charlotte Immigration Court, the number of pending cases amounts to 146,957 cases, according to a recent report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University.
PODCAST
After the storm
A year ago, Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina. The Latino community responded with something stronger than the storm: solidarity.
🎧 In this episode, learn how Latino organizations transformed crisis into resilience.
▶️Press play to listen!
Republish our stories for free on your website or newspaper. We follow the Creative Commons license. Click the box and follow the instructions.
