WASHINGTON — Immigration arrests at courthouses will be more limited than they were under President Donald Trump under a change of policy announced Tuesday by the Biden administration.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would no longer be authorized to carry out routine arrests at courthouses, a practice that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said discouraged people from attending court hearings and co-operating with law enforcement.
ICE could make arrests at courthouses in cases involving matters of national security or if the person poses a threat to public safety, if the person is the subject of an active pursuit or if there is a risk the person will destroy evidence in a criminal case, Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the new policy.
The goal of the new policy, Mayorkas said, is to balance access to the courts with immigration enforcement.
“The expansion of civil immigration arrests at courthouses during the prior administration had a chilling effect on individuals’ willingness to come to court or work co-operatively with law enforcement,” he said.
The new policy is part of a broader realignment of U.S. immigration policy under Biden, whose administration has rolled back some of the more restrictive measures of his predecessor. It has retained some policies, including a public health order that authorizes Customs and Border Protection to quickly expel most people trying to cross the border.
As part of its border enforcement strategy, the administration also announced it would crack down on migrant smuggling with targeted financial and travel sanctions and other enforcement actions against traffickers in a plan dubbed “Operation Sentinel.”
Under Trump, immigration authorities sparked criticism among advocates and some law enforcement officials with a policy, formalized in 2018, that specifically authorized routine apprehensions at federal, state and local courthouses to make arrests.
Officials argued at the time that they were compelled to make arrests at courthouses because some local jurisdictions, under “sanctuary city” policies, refused to co-operate with ICE and turn over noncitizens from jails and prisons.
That Trump-era policy prioritized public safety threats such as gang members but did not prohibit other, more routine apprehensions and did not bar agents from detaining family members, friends or witnesses who could face deportation.
In February, the administration directed ICE to focus only on people in the country who pose a threat, who have committed specific offences, including serious felonies and sex crimes, or who have recent convictions for driving under the influence.
The priorities are similar to what was done under President Barack Obama but are more restrictive than under Trump, whose administration sought to arrest and remove anyone in the country illegally regardless of criminal history or community ties.
© 2021 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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Why don’t the communist Democrats just admit that they want illegal alien criminals, who have committed felonies, released back into American cities.
THEY already have, by their actions, TIME AND TIME again.
And since the dead, seem to always some how ‘magically’ come back to life to vote democrat (even if they were life long republicans while alive), why would they ever care how many americans lives get ruined or lost CAUSE Of releasing these thugs?
demoncrats are spreading lawlessness faster than lightning strikes.
america better understand how dam dangerous they are.
MANY DO, but they are too DUMB to do anything about it!
I was always under the mistaken impression that elected officials were sworn to uphold the Law, be it local, state, or federal. ALL laws, not just the ones they think are “worthy”.
I guess those laws are only for LEGAL U.S. citizens, not for people who sneak into OUR country illegally and break OUR laws.
More and more, we keep getting proven that THOSE OATHS of office, are about as meaningful as an atheist saying “god bless”..
The law for the democrats are the ones that they wish acknowledge, and that is only if and when they wish to do so. Take congress for example they pass laws saying they can not be held responsible for liable and slander. And then they go at it. schiff for instance told the same lie for 4 years saying he had evidence of Trumps collusion with Russia.
“ICE could make arrests at courthouses in cases involving matters of national security or if the person poses a threat to public safety, if the person is the subject of an active pursuit or if there is a risk the person will destroy evidence in a criminal case, Mayorkas said in a statement announcing the new policy.”
I wonder how high the bar is gonna be before ICE is allowed to make an arrest under the new policy?
Howie Carr did a great job documenting the shenanigans that went on at Massachusetts court houses in recent years. Illegals that had no business breathing free air got sprung by soft hearted judges on several occasions.
YET we see reports of the FBI RAIDING CONSERVATIVE groups, without even having a warrant…
Soon, no illegal aliens will be stopped at the border.
That is JUST exactly what the left wants.
This is one more of an endless line of blatant violations of the laws Biden swore to uphold. He is overdue for an impeachment.
NOT just him, but EVERY JUDGE, and every one in the GOP WHO HAS no spine, to SUE TO STOP these unlawful edicts being put in place.
Biden is an a$$!
That’s why we need to vote and take both houses of Congress. Then make it a felony punishable up to 30 years to be here illegally.
IT SHOULD already be a felony. WHAT we need is MORE ENFORCEMENT of the laws.