40 West 39th Street, Fifth Foor, New York, NY 10018 Te: 212.725.6422 Fax: 800.391.5713 www.immigrantdefenseproject.org Dear Judge DiFiore and Judge Marks: We are a group of organizations that provide counse, services, and support to immigrant communities who use the New York State courts. We work with individuas who need safe access to the New York State court system for critica reasons, incuding: obtaining orders of protection, vindicating chid custody rights, defending against crimina charges, seeking protection against expoitative empoyers and andords, participating in famiy court proceedings, and maintaining pubic assistance. We write to express our serious concern about the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement s (ICE) activities in and around the State s courts. ICE s ooming presence is quicky eroding the pubic s trust in the State court system, undermining access to justice and threatening pubic safety for a New Yorkers. We respectfuy request that as Chief Judge and Chief Administrative Judge of the Unifed Court System you take a steps necessary to prevent ICE from apprehending immigrants in the State s courts. There has been a sharp increase in ICE s presence throughout the New York State court system. Since February, advocates can verify that, at a minimum, ICE has arrested or attempted to arrest 17 individuas in New York s courts. This compares to reports of 20 arrests over the past two years. The arrests have occurred in Westchester, Putnam, Coumbia and a five counties of New York City. ICE agents did not present a vaid judicia warrant in any of these cases, skirting the constitutionay-mandated rues that generay order the State court system. 1 For the first time, in eary March, ICE arrested an individua in New York s Famiy Courts. This foows reports from E Paso, Texas, of ICE arresting a transgender domestic vioence survivor who was seeking an order of protection. 2 Federa immigration authorities have 1 See Betsy Woodruff, Lega Residents Fear Getting Arrested in Court by ICE, Mar. 30, 2017, THE DAILY BEAST http://www.thedaiybeast.com/artices/2017/03/30/ega-immigrants-fear-getting-arrested-in-court-by-ice.htm; Additiona data on fie with the Immigrant Defense Project. 2 ICE subsequenty detained the woman in an immigration jai and has denied her the hormones that she requires. See Jonathan Bazer, The Woman Arrested by ICE in a Courthouse Speaks Out, Feb.23, 2007, THE NEW YORKER, http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-woman-arrested-by-ice-in-a-courthouse-speaks-out; See aso Undocumented transgender woman fiing domestic vioence caim arrested at E Paso courthouse by ICE, officia says, Feb. 16, 2017, CBS NEWS http://www.cbsnews.com/news/undocumented-transgender-woman-fiingdomesticvioence-caim-arrested-at-e-paso-courthouse-by-ice-officia-says/.
pubicy stood by such arrests decaring that victims of crime and witnesses wi be targets for deportation under the new administration. 3 With each new report of an immigration arrest, mistrust of the court system grows and access to justice withers. This has troubing civi rights impications, impeding constitutiona rights to due process, equa protection, and the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. Immigrants from communities that aready face difficuty with access to courts for different reasons, such as fear of identity-based discrimination, anguage barriers, or age, are ikey to be mutipy deterred in their efforts to meaningfuy access the courts. Survivors of domestic vioence and sexua assaut wi increasingy be too fearfu to seek protection from the courts; and chidren s access to support, protection, and permanency wi be diminished. We appreciate that the court system is monitoring the presence of ICE, but woud ike to highight the trends that we have observed over the past few months. ICE is now making arrests in Famiy Court: On March 16th, ICE arrested a father appearing for a chid support hearing in Kings County Famiy Court. The father, a awfu permanent resident from Jamaica, was seated in the waiting area when he heard the court cerk ca his name. He stood up and was immediatey surrounded by pain cothed agents who handcuffed him and shacked his ankes. The father is now detained in an immigration jai in New Jersey and his abiity to support his nine year-od son has been significanty impeded. 4 Survivors of domestic vioence are often too fearfu to seek protection from the courts. Lega Services NYC reports that one mother, who suffered severe domestic vioence and the kidnapping of her son by her partner, is now too scared to ask the Famiy Court to sign a U visa certification. In another case, a Sanctuary for Famiies attorney urged a cient who is a rape survivor to seek custody of her daughter after her abusive partner took the chid and refused to aow her any contact. The woman, who is undocumented, was too terrified of the prospect of deportation to fie the petition. In the Crimina Courts, ICE is targeting a wide range of individuas incuding documented and undocumented individuas, peope facing both misdemeanor and feony charges, and apprehending defendants as eary in the court process as the arraignment. Per President Trump s executive orders, ICE agents are targeting both documented and undocumented immigrants. This incudes documented immigrants, who have certain crimina convictions, and undocumented immigrants who have simpy been charged with a crimina offense or who have committed acts that constitute crimina conduct. 5 Advocates have seen ICE agents foow through on these sweeping new 3 Devin Barrett, DHS: Immigration agents may arrest crime victims, witnesses, at courthouses, Apr. 4, 2017, THE WASHINGTON POST https://www.washingtonpost.com/word/nationa-security/dhs-immigration-agents-may-arrest- crime-victims-witnesses-at-courthouses/2017/04/04/3956e6d8-196d-11e7-9887- 1a5314b56a08_story.htm?utm_term=.870f28d41d4d 4 Based on interviews conducted by the Immigrant Defense Project. 5 Executive Order 13,768 directs the Secretary of Homeand Security to prioritize remova of severa categories of immigrants incuding awfuy admitted residents who are deportabe due to crimina convictions described in 8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)(A). It aso priortizes the remova of undocumented immigrants who have been charged with a
priorities by showing up at arraignment parts and arresting undocumented immigrants appearing to face misdemeanor charges. 6 Pubic defenders are reporting significant increases in the number of cients who are faiing to appear for court. Brookyn Defender Services has seen doube the number of warrants issued for cients facing misdemeanor charges. 7 One pubic defender from New York County reports that even after he negotiated the dismissa of a charges for an undocumented cient, the immigrant, who had no crimina record, decined to show up to get the charges dismissed. 8 In some instances, OCA empoyees are assisting ICE enforcement actions. In Hudson City Court, the court cerk has caed ICE agents to share docket information so that they can identify immigrants for apprehension. 9 In Brookyn Crimina Court, a private defense attorney reports that court officers physicay bocked him from accompanying his cient into the vestibue of a courtroom where ICE agents were waiting. As a resut, ICE agents were abe to surround his cient and arrest him. 10 Given the grave threat to access to justice and pubic safety, we ask that as Chief Judge and Chief Administrative Judge of the Unified Court System you take steps to stop ICE enforcement actions at State courthouses. Sincerey, Adhikaar African Communities Together African Services Committee Appeate Advocates Asian American Lega Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) Atas: DIY Brookyn Bar Association Vounteer Lawyers Project Brookyn Defender Services Cathoic Migration Services crimina offense, where such charge has not been resoved, and those who have committed acts that constitute crimina conduct. EXEC. ORDER NO. 13,768, 82 C.F.R. 8799 9 (2016), avaiabe at https://www.federaregister.gov/documents/2017/01/30/2017-02102/enhancing-pubic-safety-in-the-interior-of-theunited-states. 6 Roger Wison, Immigration officers detain 3 men in Hudson, defense attorneys say, REGISTER-STAR, Feb. 15, 2017, http://www.registerstar.com/news/artice_10d31df2-f3da-11e6-b865-475c549b1644.htm. 7 Data on fie with Brookyn Defender Services. See aso Woodruff, supra note 1. 8 Woodruff, supra note1. 9 Wison, supra note 7. 10 Based on interviews conducted by the Immigrant Defense Project.
Center Against Domestic Vioence Center for Appeate Litigation Centra American Lega Assistance Coumbia County Pubic Defender Coumbia County Sanctuary Movement Common Justice Community Deveopment Project of the Urban Justice Center Crime Victim and Sexua Vioence Center Crime Victims Treatment Center Day One Downstate Coaition for Crime Victims DRUM - Desis Rising Up & Moving Emerad Ise Immigration Center Empire Justice Center Genesee County Pubic Defender Greater Rochester Coaition for Immigration Justice Harem independent iving center Her Justice HIV Law Project Housing Court Answers, Inc. ICE-Free Capita District Immigrant Defense Project Immigrant Justice Corps Immigration Equaity Immigration Law Cinic, Abany Law Cinic &a Justice Center Kathryn O. Greenberg Immigration Justice Cinic, Cardozo Schoo of Law Kids for Coege KIND, Inc. (Kids in Need of Defense) Kite's Nest Korean Community Services of Metropoitan New York Labor-Reigion Coaition of NYS LatinoJustice PRLDEF Latinos Unidos of the Hudson Vaey Lawyers For Chidren, Inc. Lega Aid Society of Nassau County Lega Services NYC Lega Services of the Hudson Vaey Lega Services Staff Association, NOLSW/UAW 2320 Long Isand Immigrant Aiance Long Isand Wins Lutheran Socia Services of New York
Make the Road New York Masa MFY Lega Services, Inc. MinKwon Center for Community Action Monroe County Confict Defender Office Mount Sinai Beth Israe Victim Services My Sister's Pace Nationa Organization for Women New York Neighborhood Defender Service of Harem New York City Anti-Vioence Project (AVP) New York County Defender Services New York Lega Assistance Group New York State Coaition Against Domestic Vioence New York State Youth Leadership Counci Northeast NY Coaition for Occupationa Safety and Heath (NENYCOSH) NYCLU-Suffok Chapter Office of the Appeate Defender OLA of Eastern Long Isand Prisoner Lega Services Queens Law Associates Regiona Immigration Assistance Center, Hudson Vaey Region Regiona Immigration Assistance Center, Region 2 Rockand Immigration Coaition Rura and Migrant Ministry Safe Against Vioence Safe Horizon Safe Passage Project Sanctuary for Famiies Sauti Yetu Center for African Women and Famiies SBK Socia Justice Center Inc Sosa Law St. Vincent de Pau Lega Progrram, St. John's University Schoo of Law STEPS to End Famiy Vioence Syvia Rivera Law Project The Bronx Defenders The Door's Lega Services Center The Hispanic Coaition NY, Inc. The Lega Aid Society The Lega Aid Society of Rochester The Lega Project UAW Region 9A
Uster County Defender UnLoca, Inc. Urban Justice Center Vioence Intervention Program Wayne Action for Racia Equaity Wayne County Pubic Defender WESPAC Foundation Worker Justice Center of NY, Inc. Youth Represent