Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed laws to restrict ICE at schools and hospitals. A similar California law shielding courthouses from immigration enforcement shows they may be difficult to enforce.
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Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Jennifer isn’t saying her brother is a saint. Far from it. He was convicted of domestic violence last year and entered a one-year intervention program. He graduated July 23 in a Fresno county courtroom where a judge told him he had done a good job.“Someone came up to him, got in his face and said his name,” said Jennifer, who did not want CalMatters to use her last name because she was concerned about immigration enforcement agents targeting other relatives. “And they grabbed him, and I tried to get between them.” “They shoved him in this car, which was a plain, beat-up van,” Jennifer said. “Then one of them asked if they should wait for ‘the other guy,’ and a different person said ‘we’re good with this one,’ like he was just part of their quota that day.”Social media is awash with videos of federal agents making arrests at immigration court hearings, which are on federal property, inside federal courthouses. What’s different about the detention of Jennifer’s brother is that it took place on the grounds of a state courthouse. Local media have reported the detention of at least two dozen other people on the grounds of California court buildings inDuring the first Trump administration, California Democrats were so concerned about ICE making arrests at superior court buildings and potentially discouraging witnesses from testifying that theyPicking people up at a courthouse can have a “potential chilling effect” on witnesses, victims and even suspects who are afraid to show up for court, California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero“Making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights,” Guerrero said. By waiting outside the courthouse, immigration agents appear to be complying with California law, though it’s unclear whether the word “courthouse” in the law includes the grounds outside the courthouse. Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office wouldn’t provide what a spokesperson called “legal analysis” of those actions when CalMatters asked about them.In Butte County, immigration enforcement agents conducted an operation inside the county’s Oroville courthouse on July 28. State law forbids civil arrests “in a courthouse while attending a court proceeding or having legal business in the courthouse.” “As far as the court is aware, ICE had not conducted enforcement actions inside one of its courthouses prior to Monday, July 28th,” Butte County Superior Court executive officer Sharif Elmallah said in a statement. “The court is concerned by the potential chilling effect and other potential adverse impacts on participation in the legal system that may occur due to these enforcement actions being conducted in and around courthouses.”Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Saturday meant to keep immigration enforcement agents out of schools and hospitals, it’s unclear what California law enforcement can actually do to enforce the law forbidding immigration agents from making arrests inside courthouses.provides some latitude to immigration enforcement agents. They may make arrests inside a courthouse if the case involves a national security threat, someone’s life is in danger, evidence is in danger or agents are in “hot pursuit.” Failing all of that, under California law, immigration agents can enter a courthouse to detain someone whom they believe poses a danger to public safety if they can’t find an alternate location and they have the approval of a federal immigration enforcement supervisor.Jennifer believes immigration agents ran her brother’s name through their own database when it was posted on the Fresno County Superior Court’s public online court docket, then waited for him to appear. In response to questions from CalMatters, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement responded with a July quote from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson which asserted the agency’s right to make arrests of “a lawbreaker where you find them.” The spokesperson also said the arrests are safer for immigration agents, since the people they’re arresting have been through security.as “sensitive locations” where immigration agents need permission to operate. ICE at the time said the list of sensitive locations was longer than those three types of places and urged agents to get permission from higher-ups before making arrests at any organization assisting “victims of crime.” Trump undid that policy in 2018 with a directive instructing ICE agents to make arrests at state and local courthouses. They proceeded to do so,Jennifer said word has already gotten out in the immigrant community in Fresno to stop attending court. Family members even tried to discourage her brother from appearing on the day he was detained. “In general, people are just avoiding going to the courthouse, even after meeting with groups who inform them that there’s consequences to not showing up,” said Nora Zaragoza-Yáñez, a program manager for the Valley Watch Network, an immigrant rights group. A Fresno County Superior Court spokesperson said the court hasn’t seen a change in the number of people appearing, but noted that in a county of 1 million people, such shifts among a relatively small population would be hard to notice. The state Department of Justice said it’s aware of the courthouse arrests. As a former member of the state Assembly, Bonta, now the state attorney general, was a co-author of the law that was meant to deter immigration enforcement at California courthouses. “We are very concerned with the Trump administration’s actions, which make our communities less safe by deterring victims or witnesses of crimes from coming forward out of fear of getting caught up in the president’s mass deportation dragnet,” the California Department of Justice said in an unsigned statement to CalMatters. As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone. 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Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.This ‘poorly drawn pets’ fundraiser exceeded expectations — and these drawings show whyRain from Tropical Storm Mario moves out of Southern California. Here's what to knowLA28 announces tickets for 2028 Olympics and Paralympics will go on sale soon. Here's how to get themDuplexes are now banned in post-fire Palisades. Here’s why they’re still allowed in Altadena L.A. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a state law allowing duplexes, calling more housing unsafe. But in Altadena, L.A. County leaders say these projects could be key for rebuilding.Investigation underway into claims LAist unearthed about top LA homeless services officials L.A. County investigators have launched a probe into allegations about Va Lecia Adams Kellum and people she hired at the L.A. Homeless Services Authority.Which schools get to have crossing guards? 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