Unprecedented ICE Arrest Inside Oakland Courthouse Draws Backlash

Officials are raising dire concerns after federal immigration officers detained a man inside an Alameda County courthouse for the first time last week, according to the public defender’s office.

The arrest would appear to be illegal under a California law passed during President Trump’s first term. It marks the latest in a series of escalations by an emboldened Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the agency aims to carry out Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

“ICE raids at our courthouses must stop immediately,” Public Defender Brendon Woods said in a statement. “People who follow a judge’s orders to attend court should not have to fear federal agents kidnapping them and dragging them away to detention centers. Our democracy cannot function if this continues.”

A client of the public defender’s office was detained in the hallways of Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland on Sept. 15, Woods said Monday. Two plainclothes agents who said they worked for ICE reportedly ushered him into an unmarked vehicle and took him to a detention center, where he remains.

The public defender’s office did not disclose any details of the client’s pending case or say whether or not the man had legal status in the U.S. He does not appear to have any criminal convictions, according to the office.

ICE has been making previously unprecedented arrests at California’s immigration courthouses — controlled by the federal government — since the spring, but arrests in state courts are still much more rare and, in most cases, illegal.

California legislators barred immigration enforcement officers from conducting arrests inside state courthouses in most cases in 2019.

A CalMatters report found that in some jurisdictions, ICE has been skirting these rules in recent months by waiting just outside the buildings, where the legality of conducting an arrest is more hazy. But Tuesday’s arrest inside the Alameda County Superior Court building is a clearer violation.

After a judge called the man’s case and issued him a new court date, he reportedly stepped into the hall while his public defender remained inside the courtroom. He was arrested in the hallway, according to the public defender’s office.

There’s only been one other known instance of an arrest inside a courthouse in California this year, according to the CalMatters report. ICE agents arrested a person inside the Oroville courthouse in Butte County on July 28.

Both actions appear to directly violate the 2019 law, which says that if people fear they will be arrested while attending judicial proceedings, they will be less likely to show up, threatening the function of California’s government and Californians’ rights.

During the immigration crackdown of Trump’s first term, the state prohibited law enforcement agencies from making civil arrests, including immigration arrests, in courthouses when people are attending a court proceeding or conducting other legal business.

“No one should be punished for obeying a court’s request for a personal appearance,” said Alameda County deputy public defender Raha Jorjani, who supervises the office’s immigration unit. “By appearing before the criminal court, our client was obeying the rules. This is about more than one arrest. It’s about whether we are building a system rooted in justice — or one rooted in fear.”

It wasn’t immediately clear what legal action the state or county could take over the apparent violation of California law, but Woods said he would work with the sheriff, district attorney and local judges to protect the county’s courts from future ICE action.

He called on the agencies to commit to not cooperating with ICE and notifying each other if they learn of planned enforcement near a courthouse or jail in the county — policies included in many local sanctuary ordinances.

While Alameda County does not have a countywide ordinance, it adheres to California’s sanctuary state law, and multiple cities, including Oakland, have their own sanctuary ordinances.

Woods also asked that the county post signage requiring ICE and law enforcement officers to identify themselves upon entering courthouses.

“We cannot allow a racist, authoritarian regime to interfere with our local courts like this,” he said. “It’s time to pick a side. Either you allow this to happen to members of our community, or you take action to prevent it.”