U.S. Department of Homeland Security officers without judicial warrants would be barred from arresting migrants attending federal immigration court proceedings under a bill New York lawmakers introduced in Congress on Monday.
The bill, called the Immigration Due Process Protection Act, follows thousands of arrests in New York City and across the country of immigrants making appearances at federal immigration courthouses.
The measure was introduced by New York Reps. Dan Goldman, Adriano Espaillat and Nydia Velázquez and California Rep. Robert Garcia, all Democrats. It would apply only to individuals with active immigration cases who have not received a final order of removal.
Another exception allows arrests necessary to prevent an imminent act of violence, or a specific threat to life, public safety or national security.
“Over the past year, we have shockingly and repeatedly witnessed [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and DHS officers detain non-violent, non-criminal immigrants immediately following mandatory court appearances — in many cases even while their case remains active and viable,” Goldman said in a statement.
He added the legislation would “put guardrails on the Trump Administration’s reckless tactics at federal immigration courts and help ensure immigrants who are lawfully seeking asylum can continue to do so.”
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the proposal was unnecessary.
“The ability of law enforcement to make arrests of criminal illegal aliens in courthouses is common sense," she said. "It conserves valuable law enforcement resources because they already know where a target will be. It is also safer for our officers and the community."
The measure would require unlikely Republican backing even to reach a vote in the GOP-led House of Representatives.
A federal judge last month upheld a New York state law banning ICE arrests at state and local courthouses, and dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit challenging the law.
Federal agents began arresting immigrants, typically without judge-signed warrants, en masse at immigration court hearings across the country this spring. Immigration advocates have decried the practice, saying arrests at immigration courthouses unfairly penalize individuals who are going through the appropriate channels to adjudicate their immigration cases.
The bill also restricts arrests at ICE check-ins. Any arrests of immigrants at such check-ins would require written authorization from a senior supervisor citing the legal basis for the arrests, and the arrest would need to be reported to the DHS inspector general within 30 days.
The legislation also requires the inspector general to submit a report to Congress on DHS' compliance with the restrictions.
