Albuquerque advocates troubled by ICE arrests outside courts

ALBUQUERQUE — Several Albuquerque groups are alarmed after immigration officers arrested people as they were leaving scheduled court hearings last week.

Judges in downtown Albuquerque confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents waited in courtrooms or outside courthouses last week to take certain people into custody, The Albuquerque Journal reported.

It's not clear if this is an escalation of ICE policy or is coming to light amid scrutiny of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. Chief Judge Nan Nash of the 2nd Judicial District said she isn't aware of any similar arrests in her 14 years at the court.

"Given the national rhetoric, it's very difficult to say whether or not this is a trend or these are just a couple of isolated incidents," said Nash.

Judges and activists said Tuesday that they did not know the names or case details of the people arrested by ICE.

A spokeswoman for ICE, Leticia Zamarripa, could not provide information about the policy behind the courthouse arrests and said she would need the names of the arrestees to provide details.

Civil rights groups, advocates against domestic violence, attorneys and others want the courts to intervene, saying the threat of arrest and subsequent deportation will prevent people from reporting crimes or seeking help.

"This activity has a chilling effect on victims seeking justice, on witnesses who are crucial to the process, and even on the criminal defendant who doesn't expect basically a death sentence on going to court," said Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, executive director of Enlace Comunitario, a group that helps Spanish-speaking women survive and escape domestic violence. She said she is not opposed to immigration enforcement for violent offenders or people charged with drug crimes.

In a letter sent to the state Supreme Court last week, Enlace Comunitario and 32 other domestic violence victim advocacy groups in New Mexico asked justices not to allow ICE agents inside courthouses.

The Supreme Court, however, cannot bar ICE from courthouses. Neither can the Administrative Office of the Courts, which confirmed Tuesday that it has also heard from people concerned about the arrests.

"In New Mexico, courthouses are public buildings and any person is permitted to enter the courthouse if they comply with the rules of the court, such as restrictions on bringing weapons into the building," said AOC spokesman Barry Massey in a statement.

The presence of immigration agents at courthouses has a different effect than that of members of the general public, argued Peter Simonson, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico.

"I think you have to acknowledge their presence in the courtroom or at the courthouse door creates a barrier to accessing the court," Simonson said. "And so I think it does raise legitimate due process concerns and may even rise to an actionable claim."