Association of Legal Aid Attorneys Plan Rally to Keep Immigration Arrests Out of Courts
After a mass walkout last week, the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys will hold a rally to keep ICE out of the courts at Brooklyn Borough Hall.
A number of public defenders staged a walkout last week after a defendant facing charges of violating a restraining order was suddenly arrested by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the hallway of Brooklyn Criminal Court.
Now the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys plans an “emergency rally” at Brooklyn Borough Hall Thursday to “demand that the Office of Court Administration and Chief Judge Janet DiFlore implement a policy to bar ICE agents from entering NY Court property,” according to a message on Facebook.
Such arrests compromise the integrity of the judicial system, according to the group.
According to a story in the Village Voice, statistics provided by the Office of Court Administration claim this is the 40th individual arrested by immigration enforcement agents inside a New York City courthouse recently.
But The Immigrant Defense Project, a nonprofit legal and advocacy organization, estimates that number is actually around 70, including arrests made just outside the courthouse. Immigration arrests have increased in the first half of the year, since President Trump signed an executive order on security, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The event will take place Thursday, December 7 at 1 p.m. at 209 Joralemon Street.
For more information on the event, click here.
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