Immigration officers recently arrested two people in the hallways of the Milwaukee County Courthouse and the Safety Building, according to an email from the county’s chief judge, raising concerns about the chilling effect of federal enforcement actions near court hearings.
Chief Judge Carl Ashley informed courthouse staff of the detentions Thursday, according to a copy of the email obtained by the Journal Sentinel. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers made the arrests March 20 and on Thursday in public hallways, Ashley said in the email.
The first arrest occurred in the courthouse after an injunction hearing ended, Ashley said. The second arrest occurred in the safety building before a defendant’s hearing.
Chief Judge Carl Ashley told courthouse staff that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement made two arrests at the Milwaukee County Courthouse recently.
“If these detentions occurred in the courtroom, I believe it would have directly interfered with our judicial process,” Ashley wrote in the email. “I’m not sure if we have the authority to intervene in what happens in a public hallway.”
Ashley said he reached out to the county’s Office of Corporation Counsel and the Director of State Courts for input and asked staff to tell him if they learn of other ICE actions in the courthouse complex. Ashley did not immediately respond to calls for comment Friday.
More: As deportations loom, we answer how immigrants get visas, pay taxes, apply for citizenship
The identities of the two individuals were not immediately clear. It was also not clear where they were taken, or the circumstances that led to their detentions.
ICE said it could not confirm the arrests without having the individuals’ names or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services numbers.
The second person, detained on Thursday, was taken prior to his status hearing for a felony charge, according to one of the attorneys representing him. The attorney asked not to be named in this story due to fear of retaliation from ICE against him and his other clients. He also declined to provide the client’s name.
The attorney said he has been unable to locate his client in the ICE detention system or reach him by phone since his arrest.
More: Milwaukee-area woman deported to Laos though she’s never been there, doesn’t speak the language
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (left) talks with Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern (right) and Milwaukee County chief judge Carl Ashley looks on in the Milwaukee County Courthouse Complex and Public Safety Building in Milwaukee on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025.
Arrests at the courthouse put immigrants in a tough spot, experts say
Colleen Foley, executive director of Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, said she had never heard of ICE arrests being made at court hearings in her 23 years in Milwaukee.
She called the news “very sobering” and said immigrants with legal cases face a hard decision: assert their right to defend themselves in court, or risk getting detained — and possibly deported.
“Due process is being lost in the mix here,” Foley said. “This is still America. Due process applies. I would encourage ICE to honor that.”
Any resident of the U.S., regardless of legal status, is entitled to Constitutional rights such as due process, Foley said.
More: They came to the U.S. legally with American sponsors. Trump put their future in jeopardy.
Darryl Morin, president of advocacy group Forward Latino, said it was “critical” that people without legal status feel comfortable taking part in the judicial system. Aside from criminal cases, immigrants may need to handle anything from parking tickets to child custody cases, as well as issues with landlords and other situations where they could be victimized, Morin said.
“We want all residents feeling free to avail themselves of the court system,” he said, adding his organization would be investigating the case further.
As President Donald Trump’s administration carries out a nationwide immigration crackdown, agents are making arrests in previously fairly uncommon places, such as at routine ICE check-in appointments, on street corners and near college campuses.
In Boston, a municipal court judge held an ICE officer in contempt for detaining a suspect while he was on trial. The judge argued the agent deprived the man of his rights to due process and a fair trial, according to the Associated Press. The man’s attorney said ICE agents approached the man without identifying themselves, then whisked him away in a pickup truck.
An ICE policy in place since Jan. 21 allows immigration agents to make arrests “in or near courthouses when they have credible information that leads them to believe (the person) is or will be present at a specific location.”
The policy also states that the arrests should “continue to take place in non-public areas of the courthouse, be conducted in collaboration with court security staff, and use the court building’s non-public entrances and exits.” The courthouse policy is part of a larger rollback on guidance against immigration arrests in “sensitive areas” such as churches, schools and hospitals.
Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office deputies provide courthouse security. In a statement to the Journal Sentinel, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said the office had been “made aware of ICE’s intention to take an individual into custody at the courthouse, shortly before the arrest occurred, but was not given advance notice of the second arrest in the Milwaukee County Public Safety Building.” Sheriff’s deputies did not participate in either arrest, the spokesperson said.
“MCSO understands that immigration enforcement is a hot button issue, but it is not uncommon for local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to search available databases for upcoming court hearings of individuals they are seeking,” the statement said.
County Executive David Crowley is aware of “potential interactions with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers,” a spokesperson said. “We will continue to partner with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and Judiciary Branch to determine the best path forward to maintain safety and promote justice for all who come through our doors.”
Tim Muth is the senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Wisconsin. He said immigration arrests at the courthouse would instill more fear in immigrant communities, and they discourage witnesses and crime victims from providing prosecutors information for investigations.
“I think it shows that this administration is focused only on its program of mass deportation without any concern for other important factors like community safety,” he said.
A court building, however, is a public space and there is no particular way to prevent ICE officers from walking into it, Muth said.
Sophie Carson is a general assignment reporter who reports on religion and faith, immigrants and refugees and more. Contact her at scarson@gannett.com or 920-323-5758.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ICE agents arrest 2 people at Milwaukee County Courthouse, judge says
Read the full article here
