New legislation in New York will bar federal immigration agents from making arrests inside state courthouses without a judicial warrant, a move seen as pushback against President Trump's hardline immigration policies. The Protect Our Courts Act, signed Tuesday, comes amid concerns from immigration advocates that fears of being arrested deter undocumented immigrants from making court appearances. In June, a Manhattan federal judge ordered ICE to stop making arrests at state courthouses, saying the agency's tactics amounted to “disrupting and intimidating intrusions." In 2019, ICE made 173 arrests at state courthouses, much higher than the 28 made in 2016, before Trump took office, according to an Immigrant Defense Project report. "After today, New York's courts will no longer be hunting grounds for federal agents attempting to round-up and initiate deportation proceedings against immigrants."

Source: Fox News December 16, 2020 03:11 UTC