Public Defenders Walk Out Of Brooklyn Court After ICE Arrest

BROOKLYN, NY — Public defenders walked out of a Brooklyn courthouse Friday afternoon after ICE agents arrested an undocumented immigrant inside, according to the Legal Aid Society.

Nearly 50 Legal Aid lawyers protested outside Brooklyn Criminal Court after immigration agents picked up the man at about 11:30 a.m. on the eighth floor of the courthouse, attorneys said.

"We are appalled by yet another courthouse arrest by ICE," Legal Aid and the Brooklyn Public Defenders said in a joint statement. "If the people we represent cannot safely appear in court to participate in their own defense — and, further, are sanctioned with warrants for not appearing — then the integrity of the whole system must be questioned."

A spokesman for ICE said the suspect is a Panamanian national who has a pending criminal case and was previously convicted of crimes.

"[The arrest] was done extremely inconspicuously," Legal Aid lawyer Rebecca J. Kavanagh wrote on Twitter. "If you are a non-citizen & have case today in any court downtown BK, contact your lawyer ASAP."

Public defenders held a similar protest outside a Bronx courthouse in February after ICE agents detained 27-year-old Aboubacar Dembele, who came to the U.S. from the Ivory Coast. Dembele was in court over a misdemeanor assault charge and it was his first run-in with the law, Legal Aid previously told Patch.

Advocates said arresting immigrants in court could make them afraid to testify or report crimes because of fear of being deported, but the practice has surged across the country under President Donald Trump.

In New York state alone, there were 144 arrests or attempted arrests in 2017, compared to 11 in 2016, the Immigrant Defense Fund said. So far this year, the IDF counted at least 25 arrests and three attempted arrests in the city.

Across the country, 28 percent of those targeted last year had no prior criminal history and were in court mainly to respond to traffic violations, according to the IDF.

ICE said that current policy doesn't label courthouses as sensitive locations so will continue to target them despite calls from local District Attorney's to end the practice.

Image courtesy of the Legal Aid Society