Immigrants Avoiding State Courts, Legal Services Due to ICE Presence, Report Says (New York Law Journal)
New York Law Journal, April 10, 2019
Immigrants Avoiding State Courts, Legal Services Due to ICE Presence, Report Says
“The increased presence of federal immigration officers in and around New York state courts has led to a sharp decline in equal access to litigation and the use of legal services by undocumented immigrants, a new report released Wednesday found. The report, released by a coalition of public defenders, civil legal services providers and others, called on the Office of Court Administration to immediately promulgate a rule requiring those officers to obtain a federal judicial arrest warrant before entering state courts to make an arrest….The New York City Bar Association also released a statement on the report, calling its findings ‘disturbing’ and asking OCA to take action to reduce the presence of ICE going forward. ‘The resulting picture is a disturbing one, with the increased operations of ICE in state courthouses having a clear negative impact on courthouse processes and the administration of justice, with devastating repercussions for some of New York’s most vulnerable residents,’ the City Bar said in the statement.”
