Statewide Memo Tells Court Officers to Let ICE Make Arrests in Courthouses

Court officers across New York's courthouses are now instructed to step aside if federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials or other outside law enforcement agencies attempt to make arrests without a judicial warrant within state courts. 

This change in procedure was included in a memo sent to state court staff on February 6 by Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas, who oversees the thousands of non-judicial staff in New York's courts, including court law enforcement officers. 

The memo, titled "Protocols Governing Activities in Courthouses by Law Enforcement Agencies," largely reaffirms a state law passed in 2020, the Protect Our Courts Act, that prohibits ICE and other law enforcement agencies from detaining someone who is inside a courthouse, or on their way to or from a courthouse, without a warrant or order from a judge. 

But there is one notable shift that is alarming some immigrant rights advocates. In a new addition, the February 6 memo also tells court officers that now, if outside law enforcement officials don't have a judicial warrant or order "and nonetheless proceed to go forward with their intentions outside the courtroom, [Unified Court System] uniformed personnel should neither obstruct nor assist in any way."