Report: Number of ICE arrests in Brooklyn courts soars
New York courts becoming ‘traps for immigrants’
A report issued by the Immigrant Defense Project on Monday outlines an increase in arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in New York courthouses by 1,700 percent in the year 2018.
IDP documented 202 reports of ICE arrests and sightings in all of New York’s courthouses last year, a 1,700 percent increase since early 2017, according to the 15-page report. About 75 percent of ICE arrests statewide have occurred in New York City — and Brooklyn had the most arrests and sightings in any of the five boroughs.
“This report shows that ICE is expanding surveillance and arrests in courthouses across the state, creating a crisis for immigrants who need access to the courts,” said Alisa Wellek, IDP executive director. “We cannot allow ICE to turn New York’s courts into traps for immigrants. The New York state Legislature must act now to pass the Protect Our Courts Act to prevent ICE from continuing these harmful practices.”