Rhode Island Bill To Keep ICE Out Of Courthouses Now Law

PROVIDENCE, RI — A new Rhode Island law limits the authority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at courthouses.

"The Protect Our Courts Act ... prevents any federal immigration authority from conducting a civil arrest of any person in Rhode Island without a judicial warrant or order while that individual is traveling to, attending or directly leaving a judicial proceeding," according to a media release.

"Violators will be in contempt of court and victims of these arrests will be entitled to sue for relief," the release said. "The Attorney General’s office can also sue violators of the statute. This is especially urgent, given the increased presence of ICE at Rhode Island courthouses in the past eighteen months."

The act requires any law enforcement official who enters a courthouse with the intent to observe or detain an individual to first identify themselves to court security, explain their purpose and produce any relevant warrants or judicial orders, according to the release.

"Except under extraordinary circumstances, no arrest will be allowed within the courthouse without the permission of the court," the release said.

Since President Trump rescinded guidelines preventing ICE from making arrests at courthouses, "numerous arrests have occurred at Rhode Island courthouses, including on Jan. 15 when ICE agents breached court security in pursuit of two individuals, according to eyewitnesses," according to the release.

"In a widely-publicized event, they also detained a teenage judicial intern outside the Licht Judicial Complex last November, while attempting to locate a man in his thirties," the release said.

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