Civil Immigration Enforcement Actions Inside Courthouses
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are now going into federal, state, and local courtrooms to make arrests.
According to a new ICE directive issued January 10, 2018:
“ICE civil immigration enforcement actions inside courthouses include actions against specific, targeted aliens with criminal convictions, gang members, national security or public safety threats, aliens who have been ordered removed from the United States but have failed to depart, and aliens who have re-entered the country illegally after being removed, when ICE officers or agents have information that leads them to believe the targeted aliens are present at that specific location.”
Though couched in language appealing to “national security” and apprehending “gang members,” these actions will likely include the apprehension, arrest, interviewing, or search of aliens who have been cited for minor offenses such as driving without a valid license, which is considered a misdemeanor in most states, including Florida.
With Customs and Border Protection (CBP) raiding buses and trains, and ICE is showing up at courthouses, these tactics harken back to the days following September 11th, and the immigrant community must once again be vigilant. . . .