After Unlawful Immigration Arrest in New York State Courthouse State Senator Hoylman-Sigal & Assembly Member Solages Urge Attorney General to Enforce Protect our Courts Act

NEW YORK — New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D/WFP-Manhattan), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Assembly Member Michaelle Solages (D-Long Island) have written a letter to Attorney General Letitia James and Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas regarding the implementation of their 2019 law, the Protect Our Courts Act (S.425A). Specifically, the letter expresses concern over reports that federal law enforcement had conducted two successful detentions at New York State courts—including one arrest without a judicial warrant, which would violate the Protect our Courts Act.

The Protect our Courts Act states that federal immigration officers are prohibited from making arrests at city, state, or federal courthouses in New York State without a warrant signed by a judge. Under this law the Attorney General of the State of New York was given the authority to bring an action for appropriate equitable and declaratory relief in the event that a New Yorker is arrested by federal immigrant officers who do not have a judicial warrant.

In the letter, Hoylman-Sigal and Solages urged Attorney General James to use the powers granted to her under this law. They also urged Chief Administrative Judge Zayas to clarify what measures should be taken when federal law enforcement officers ignore the advice of Unified Court System personnel and proceed to conduct an illegal enforcement action in a New York State court without a judicial warrant.

The full letter can be found here.

Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said: “It’s extremely disturbing that federal immigration officers violated New York State law and arrested an immigrant New Yorker inside one of our courthouses, without a judicial warrant. We passed the Protect our Courts Act to outlaw this, so that every New Yorker could feel safe when participating in our judicial system regardless of their immigration status. Assemblymember Solages and I are urging Attorney General James to utilize the enforcement powers the legislature gave her office under the Protect Our Courts act and take legal action against those who violated it. We trust the Office of Court Administration will ensure their guidelines are clear and well-understood by all court personnel.”

Assembly Member Solages said: "New Yorkers deserve to access our courts without fear of intimidation or unlawful enforcement actions. The Protect Our Courts Act was enacted to ensure that our judicial system remains a place where justice is accessible to all, not a tool for immigration enforcement. Reports of federal officers making arrests in our courthouses without judicial warrants are deeply concerning and violate the very protections this law provides. We are calling on Attorney General Letitia James and Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas to take immediate action to uphold the law and safeguard the rights of all New Yorkers."