‘Courts should be sensitive locations.’ ICE agents at Tulare courthouse stirs concerns

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up at the Tulare County Superior Court on Thursday, on the heels of ICE arrests of undocumented immigrants at the Fresno County Superior Court, which started last month.

Tulare County Superior Court Presiding Judge Bret Hillman said he was informed by court staff that ICE agents showed up at the courthouse, but made no arrests.

He said the agents only reviewed publicly available documents, like checking the courthouse calendar to see which defendants were scheduled to appear.

As of late Thursday, ICE had not made any arrests.

The arrests of undocumented immigrants in Fresno County sparked concerns among attorneys and immigrants rights advocates over whether individuals’ rights to due process were being violated.

Hillman said he’s concerned about whether ICE’s presence could prevent those with pending court cases, or those who are witnesses, from coming to court. “We feel courts should be sensitive locations,” Hillman said.

Under ICE’s policy, immigration enforcement is to be avoided in schools, medical facilities and churches — places designated as sensitive locations.

Hillman said he didn’t want to speculate on what the Tulare courthouse would allow if ICE agents returned to make arrests.

Earlier this week Hillman told The Bee he’d hoped ICE wouldn’t make an appearance at the courthouse.

“In Tulare County, just like Fresno County, we have a significant immigrant population and we wouldn’t want that to deter them from coming to court,” he said. “We would hope that ICE would not engage in ICE raids here, but we certainly respect that federal law allows them to do that.”

Alex Calvo, court executive officer at the Santa Cruz Superior Court, said he had not seen any immigration arrests in his 30 years of working in the California court system until last year. That courthouse saw an ICE arrest in July 2017, and another one in March outside of the courthouse.

Calvo said Santa Cruz’s courthouse hasn’t taken any measures to prevent ICE from making arrests, as court officials are waiting for California’s Sanctuary Law polices, which Attorney General Xavier Becerra has until Oct. 1 to publish.

These policies are expected to limit assistance by local authorities on immigration enforcement.

California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye has also expressed her opposition to ICE making arrests in courthouses, saying such locations should be viewed as sensitive.

“I’m hoping (the policy from the Attorney General’s Office) is consistent with what the chief justice has laid out for the courts,” Calvo said.

According to the law, Calvo said, courthouses across the state will have to adopt that policy or an equivalent one.

Calvo said he’s in agreement that courthouses should be designated as a sensitive location, and immigration arrests should be avoided because they have a “chilling effect.”

Reached late Thursday afternoon, ICE spokesman Richard Rocha said he couldn’t confirm ICE’s appearance at the Tulare courthouse.

While heads of other courthouses in California have spoken about their opposition to ICE arrests in courthouses, Fresno County Superior Court Presiding Judge Alan M. Simpson has continued to remain silent on the issue.

Suzanne Abi-Rached, spokeswoman for the Fresno County Superior Court, on Wednesday declined to comment on whether the courthouse had taken any measures to help prevent ICE from making further arrests.

Adrianne Forshay, spokeswoman for the San Joaquin County Superior Court, would only say the courthouse “has not had any issues with ICE.”

Superior courts in Kings and Kern counties did not return a request for comment on ICE arrests.

This story was originally published August 16, 2018 at 6:14 PM.