Bill would ban ICE arrests at California state courthouses

Immigrants worried about being arrested by federal agents outside California state courtrooms could be helped by an Inland Empire state senator’s bill announced Tuesday, Jan. 6.

SB 873 from San Bernardino Democrat Eloise Gómez Reyes “aims to prevent federal immigration agents from disrupting regularly scheduled court appearances with unannounced and indiscriminate arrests,” a news release from the senator’s office states.

The bill “will provide legal assurances that Californians are safe from immigration agents in and around the grounds of a courthouse,” the release adds.

The bill’s exact details will be ironed out in coming weeks.

Since President Donald Trump took office last year, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers frequently arrest suspected illegal immigrants after court appearances they’re obligated to attend.

While court appearances present authorities with a predictable schedule for those suspected of violating immigration laws, critics argue that courthouse arrests hamper the legal process and traumatize families who see their loved ones handcuffed and whisked away to detention facilities.

“One of the core responsibilities of government is to protect people — not to inflict terror on them,” Reyes, the daughter of immigrants, said in the release.

“California is not going to let the federal government make political targets out of people trying to be good stewards of the law. Discouraging people from coming to court makes our community less safe.”

ICE representatives did not immediately respond Tuesday morning to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice’s central California district referred questions about Reyes’ bill to ICE.

If approved by the legislature and signed into law, SB 873 could set up another legal fight between California and Washington, D.C. over immigration enforcement.

A blue state, California laws and policies are aimed at shielding undocumented immigrants from deportation. Trump, on the other hand, campaigned for the White House promising mass deportations of anyone in the country illegally.

Last year, California lawmakers passed the “No Secret Police Act” barring law enforcement from wearing masks in most situations.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who oversees the justice department’s central California district, has argued the law doesn’t apply to federal authorities. ICE officers wear masks to avoid being harassed or targeted for doing their jobs, Trump administration officials have said.