Court officials point out it is illegal to ban ICE from public buildings
A group of Brooklyn lawmakers penned a letter this week to Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, the state’s top judge, asking for a ban on all U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents within New York City courts.
However, a statement released by the Office of Court Administration points out that it would be illegal to bar federal agents from a public building.
“What the signatories of this letter are asking us to do, which they are fully aware is illegal, is to shut down a public building to law enforcement,” the statement read. “We cannot do that and we will not do that. There is not one state court system in the country that bars law enforcement from their courthouses.