The Department of Homeland Security directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to place new limitations on operating near or inside courthouses.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued the interim guidance on Tuesday. It includes four situations in which civil immigration enforcement may take place inside or near a courthouse.
Immigration enforcement may step in if the situation involves a national security matter, there is an imminent risk of death or physical harm, it was during the pursuit of a person who poses a threat to the public, or there is an imminent risk that someone could be destroying evidence.
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“Ensuring that individuals have access to the courts advances the fair administration of justice, promotes safety for crime victims, and helps to guarantee equal protection under the law,” Mayorkas said.
“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 cooperatively with law enforcement,” he added. “Today’s guidance is the latest step in our efforts to focus our civil immigration enforcement resources on threats to homeland security and public safety.”
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The directive orders supervisors to ensure that all employees are trained annually regarding the policy and forces ICE and CBP to provide monthly reports to Mayorkas and the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties upon request.
The policy overrides an ICE directive issued in 2018.
