In Their Hunt For The Undocumented, ICE Now Detaining Residents At Austin Misdemeanor Courts

AUSTIN, TX — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are exercising a new tactic in rooting out undocumented residents in Austin, scouring through the Travis County Courthouse to find their targets showing up to clear misdemeanor charges on unrelated matters, according to a published report.

Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhard told the Austin American-Statesman that ICE agents scoped out two county courts on Friday to find residents who are undocumented. It appears to be a new tactic for ICE as it continues a now three-week crackdown on undocumented immigrants living in Austin.

Defense attorney Daniel Betts told the Statesman that his client, Juan Coronilla-Guerrero, was detained by ICE agents following a routine court appearance on a pair of misdemeanor charges. The man was arrested in an elevator on Friday morning, just after a pre-trial conference, the newspaper reported.

The Travis County Sheriff's Office also confirmed the reports, saying the ICE agents were at the courthouse serving a warrant, officials told the Statesman.

An attorney who witnessed the arrest said the paperwork ICE presented to effect the arrest was neither a court order nor an official warrant. “It struck me as extraordinary,” Betts told the newspaper. “I told my client a week and a half ago that I didn’t think ICE would be at the courts, but we see how that turned out.”

Late Friday afternoon, council members Greg Casar and Delia Garza issued statements condemning the tactic.

“Their presence in a courthouse harms our overall public safety," Casar said. "This will have a chilling effect on our judicial branch of government’s ability to operate effectively. Because of actions like this, people will fear going to court dates as victims, witnesses, or defendants. When families live in fear, we all lose.”

Garza said the presence of ICE agents scouring the courts for possible undocumented residents only serves to add another layer of anxiety for vulnerable members of society.

“As a former Assistant Attorney General who worked in the Child Support Division, I know our working families already face anxiety when needing to navigate the justice system,” Garza said. “ICE's presence in our courthouses will harm any trust our immigrant families place in the court system. If families are fearful of attending any required court appearances, they could face dire consequences like losing custody of their children or obtaining a restraining order from an abusive spouse."

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

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