Access to Justice Under Threat: Demanding an End to ICE Arrests in Massachusetts Courthouses
ICE operations in courthouses are silencing immigrant communities
Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is calling on Massachusetts court officials to protect access to justice and the administration of justice, as immigration enforcement efforts continue to escalate in and around courthouses. In an open letter sent today to the Massachusetts Trial Court, LCR is urging immediate reforms to protect victims and witnesses from immigrant communities and to preserve equal access to justice in courthouses across the Commonwealth.
The letter warns that federal immigration enforcement inside and around Massachusetts courthouses has reached crisis levels. Masked and unidentified ICE officers using highly aggressive tactics and blatant racial profiling have arrested people in courthouse parking lots, sidewalks, and even during ongoing trials—creating an atmosphere of fear and intimidation that effectively shuts immigrant communities out of the justice system. Our communities are less safe for everyone when victims and witnesses of crimes cannot come forward to participate in the justice process.
“Everyone—regardless of immigration status—deserves equal, unfettered access to the courts,” said Brooke Simone, Staff Attorney at LCR. “Right now in Massachusetts, ICE is racially profiling members of our community and weaponizing courthouses to make arrests, undermining safety and the rule of law. The state has a responsibility to end warrantless immigration enforcement in courthouses immediately.”
LCR is calling for concrete changes to the Massachusetts Trial Court’s Policy and Procedures Regarding Courthouse Interactions with the Department of Homeland Security, including:
- Expand access to remote court proceedings to ensure that individuals fearful of in-person appearances can still seek justice.
- Bar ICE officers without a judicial warrant from entering courthouses. Even with a judicial warrant, officers must identify themselves, explain their purpose, outline their intended actions, and present a safety plan to the courthouse security personnel.
- Prohibit civil immigration arrests without a judicial warrant or judicial order in or around state courthouses, including public entryways, driveways, sidewalks, walkways, and parking areas serving the courthouse.
- Bar any law enforcement officer from wearing a mask or face covering inside courthouses.
- Prevent ICE officers and employees—even those with civil detainers—from entering courthouse lockups to take custody of individuals released from state custody.
Other states—including Connecticut, Oregon, New Jersey, California, Colorado, Washington, and New York—have already adopted similar protections shielding courthouses from ICE activity.
“Massachusetts is falling behind in safeguarding immigrant communities,” said Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of LCR. “Equal justice means everyone—regardless of immigration status—can safely access our courts. Our Constitution requires us to act and we call on the Trial Court to adopt these overdue protections immediately.”
The open letter stresses that unchecked ICE operations are silencing immigrant workers, survivors of domestic violence, tenants, and parents—individuals who are now too afraid to attend court hearings and exercise their constitutional rights. This climate not only harms immigrant families, but also threatens public safety across the Commonwealth.