Dec. 17 2018 -- Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino, Jr. is calling on New York State lawmakers and Governor Cuomo for swift passage of the Protect Our Courts Act (A.11013/S.08925) when the legislature reconvenes in 2019.
The bill, if it becomes law, will prohibit ICE agents from entering state courthouses for purposes of civil immigration enforcement absent a judicial warrant or court order. It will define the process by which the state courts must execute this provision and review the requisite warrants and orders.
In his letter to incoming Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and the Westchester Senate and Assembly delegation, DA Scarpino said:
“I have made it a priority to build trust with the county’s growing immigrant communities. Nearly one in four Westchester residents is foreign-born and one-third speak a language other than English. Ensuring that every Westchester resident can obtain justice within our legal system, regardless of immigration status, is a mission that my office takes very seriously.”
“The growing presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Westchester courts undermines my office’s efforts to effectively investigate and prosecute crimes. When ICE uses our local courthouses to make civil immigration arrests, it has a profound chilling effect on victims of crimes. Immigrants who are victims of domestic violence, wage theft, fraud, or violent crimes are now fearful that coming to court may lead to arrest by ICE. Immigrant witnesses of crime, who are essential to our prosecutions, also fear the consequences of coming to court.”
Scarpino added, “When immigrants are scared to come forward, the safety of our entire community is threatened.”
The District Attorney joins a growing list of prosecutors and others calling on the state to adopt this act.
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