CRACKDOWN

ICE Issues Directive for Deportation Arrests in Courthouses

Won’t arrest friends and family for deportation unless “special circumstances” arise.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has formalized a policy allowing deportation agents to make arrests at federal, state, and local courthouses, a move that has been widely panned by advocacy groups. In a two-page directive issued Wednesday, the agency said courthouse arrests will target only specific threats, including convicted criminals, gang members, public safety threats, and immigrants who’ve previously been deported. The directive says family and friends accompanying “the target alien” for courthouse appearances will not face arrest unless “special circumstances” arise. Judges and advocacy groups have warned that courthouse arrests in deportation cases instill fear among crime victims and witnesses, but ICE on Wednesday appeared to blame sanctuary cities for the new policy. The directive, signed by acting ICE director Thomas Homan, said the “increasing unwillingness of some jurisdictions to cooperate with ICE in the safe and orderly transfer of targeted aliens inside their prisons and jails has necessitated additional at-large arrests.”