Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its practice of arresting people at courthouses in Washington state for immigration violations.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court Tuesday against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection.
The lawsuit claims when ICE agents patrol courthouse hallways and parking lots, it deters crime victims and witnesses from testifying and interferes with the criminal prosecutions.
ICE details on their website their enforcement policies at so-called "sensitive locations and courthouses."
Sensitive locations are defined as schools, hospitals, places of worship, religious or civil ceremonies, or during a public demonstration. ICE says enforcement actions "may occur" at sensitive locations in limited circumstances, but are generally avoided.
Courthouses are not considered a sensitive location.
On their website, ICE claims enforcement actions inside courthouses are taken against undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions, gang members, national security or public safety threats, or immigrants who have been ordered to leave the country but haven't and immigrants who have re-entered the country illegally.
Family members or friends accompanying an undocumented immigrant to court appearances or those serving as a witness would not be subject to civil immigration enforcement action, according to ICE. However, if those individuals pose a threat to public safety or "interferes with ICE's enforcement actions" then they would be subject to enforcement.
Ferguson claims since 2017, immigration authorities have arrested hundreds of immigrants in or near courthouses in Washington who are not considered dangerous individuals and did not have prior criminal records.
“If immigration officials can demonstrate that their courthouse arrests only target dangerous criminals, I will drop this lawsuit,” Ferguson said. “But they won’t do that because they can’t. The federal government has arrested many people who are simply trying to access justice for themselves or their families. That’s illegal, it makes us all less safe, and it needs to stop.”
Ferguson highlighted several cases, including one domestic violence survivor, who was seeking a protection order in Grant County.
ICE officials said Tuesday they do not comment on pending litigation, but released the following statement in part:
"ICE ERO officers have been provided broad at-large arrest authority by Congress and may lawfully arrest removable aliens in courthouses, which is often necessitated by local policies that prevent law enforcement from cooperating with ICE efforts to arrange for a safe and orderly transfer of custody in the setting of a state or county prison or jail and put political rhetoric before public safety. It is ironic that elected officials want to see policies in place to keep ICE out of courthouses, while caring little for laws enacted by Congress to keep criminal aliens out of our country. Despite attempts to prevent ICE officers from doing their jobs, ICE will continue to carry out its mission to uphold public safety and enforce immigration law, and consider carefully whether to refer those who obstruct our lawful enforcement efforts for criminal prosecution.”
This is the 53rd lawsuit Ferguson has against the Trump administration.
A similar lawsuit by prosecutors in Massachusetts has resulted in a preliminary order blocking immigration agents from making civil arrests at courthouses there. The administration has appealed the Massachusetts order.