USA03 July, 20263 min read
Kathy Hochul Signs New York Laws Limiting ICE Arrests in Schools, Churches, Courts
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Federal judges barred ICE arrests inside New York immigration courts. ICE arrests have occurred at New York courts despite court orders.
New York curbs ICE
New York Governor Kathy Hochul will sign this Friday a package of laws aimed at shielding the migrant community and curbing the 'flagrant abuse of power' by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the state. The regulations will limit ICE's interventions in so-called 'sensitive locations,' such as schools, churches, courts, and community centers, unless they have an arrest warrant, and Hochul said, 'We will not permit this abuse of power to continue on our streets and in our communities.'
The package also bans the wearing of masks or balaclavas by law enforcement officers in the state and ends agreements that allowed delegating immigration functions to local police, with Hochul saying, 'I want our police focused on local crimes, not doing ICE's civil work.' The signing comes amid tensions between New York State and the Trump administration's policies, which Hochul described as 'cruel,' as the state moves to restrict how ICE operates in public institutions.
Courthouse arrests blocked
A U.S. federal judge provisionally barred Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from making arrests in the New York immigration court building at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan in a decision issued late Monday, May 18.
Judge Kevin Castel sharply limits ICE's ability to arrest people appearing for hearings, allowing federal agents to arrest in courthouses only in narrowly defined emergency situations, notably in cases of imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm.
The ruling is based on a letter released by the Manhattan district attorney's office nearly two months ago, stating it had misinterpreted a note from the Trump administration justifying the use of arrests in the courts, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded that nothing prevents arresting a person in violation wherever they are.
The Intercept later described ICE as taking three people into custody at immigration courts in New York City over the last week, saying the arrests appeared to be the first grave violations of two orders barring such arrests, and quoted Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., saying, "ICE continues to flagrantly violate the law by arresting immigrants who are attending their mandatory court hearings, despite a court order mandating an end to courthouse arrests."
Detention fights and funding
In New York, Zohran Mamdani condemned an ICE detention of a New York City Council employee during a meeting with immigration authorities in Bethpage, Nassau County, on Long Island, saying, "This is an attack on our democracy, on our city and on our values," and demanding "the immediate release" of the employee.
The DHS deputy secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the employee was Rafael Andres Rubio Bohorquez, a Venezuelan national who entered the United States in 2017 with a tourist visa that had expired in October of that year, and she said, "Foreign nationals in irregular status who have committed criminal offenses are not welcome in the United States."
Univision reported that Rubio was released after five months under ICE custody, confirming that he left the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey, on the past 19 de junio, after 158 days of a legal battle.
Separately, the U.S. Congress approved a Republican plan of 70.000 millones de dólares to finance ICE, the ICE received USD 38.000 millones, and the measure passed by a narrow margin of 214 votes to favor and 212 en contra, setting up funding through the end of President Donald Trump's mandate in 2029 as the dispute over courthouse arrests and detentions continues.