PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Immigration advocates rallied with the offices of the District Attorney and Public Defender earlier this week to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who they say are arresting people at Philadelphia courthouses. City court and federal officials, however, say that isn’t happening.
About a hundred people rallied outside the Criminal Justice Center in Center City this week to protest ICE, including one woman who recounted a story where someone she knows was arrested outside the Family Court building at 15th and Arch streets.
The district court administrator says they’re not aware of anyone being arrested in a city court, though the Public Defender’s Office, which represents about 70% of all defendants, says they have seen arrests.
“Our attorneys have reported that since January we have had around two dozen undocumented citizens who have been deported,” said Keisha Hudson, Philadelphia’s chief public defender, “many of whom we represent, some of whom are victims and/or witnesses in the justice process.”
An ICE spokesperson says the agency does not make arrests in courthouses, but sometimes will be nearby if they know a person they are looking for could be in court.
“The arrests Mr. Krasner appears to be referring to occur at adjacent buildings which are not a part of the courthouse and/or are not used for court-related business which fall outside the scope of the ‘Civil Enforcement Actions in or near Courthouses,’” they said in a statement.
“Immigration officers are permitted to carry out civil immigration enforcement actions in or near a courthouse in certain limited circumstances, to include matters of national security; the imminent risk of death, violence, or physical harm to any person; the hot pursuit of an individual who poses a threat to public safety; or if there is an imminent risk of destruction of evidence material to a criminal case.”
They add that while ICE disagrees with the city on certain immigration policies, it is open to and “looking forward” to further discussion.
KYW Newsradio also spoke with about a dozen private criminal defense attorneys, including some who handle immigration matters, who say they have not seen any ICE arrests inside or outside the Criminal Justice Center.