Nov. 18 (UPI) — A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday brought by the President Donald Trump administration against a state law that prevents immigration arrests in state and local courthouses.
The suit, filed in June by the Justice Department, challenged New York’s Protect Our Courts law, which was passed in 2020. The law makes people immune from warrantless arrests when attending a court proceeding in which they or a family member is a party or witness. It includes travel to and from the courthouse.
“To hold to the contrary would improperly elevate the concerns of the federal sovereign over that of a State and deprive New York of its essential ability to protect its sovereign interests in the face of undue federal interference,” wrote Judge Mae D’Agostino, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, in her 41-page opinion.
Agents can still make arrests in federal courthouses.
The administration has had a number of legal setbacks on its immigration policies recently.
A federal judge in July threw out a lawsuit filed by the Trump administration against Illinois, Cook County and Chicago sanctuary policies that ban police from helping in immigration-related matters. The Department of Justice filed a similar suit against New York City that is still in the courts. On Wednesday, a judge ordered that most Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees at a particular jail in Chicago must be released on bond.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement: “Everyone deserves to seek justice without fear. This ruling ensures that anyone can use New York’s state courts without being targeted by federal authorities. My office will continue fighting to defend the dignity and rights of immigrant communities throughout New York.”
The Justice Department argued that states can’t control federal agents.
“Contrary to New York’s assertions, the 10th Amendment gives states no right to undermine, regulate, or discriminate against federal agents,” the department argued in court filings.
D’Agostino said that wasn’t the case here.
“New York is not attempting to regulate federal agents and it is not prohibiting the federal government from enforcing immigration law,” D’Agostino wrote. “Rather, it is simply defining, as a proprietor, what activities are not permissible in state-owned facilities. Such conduct does not run afoul of the intergovernmental immunity doctrine.”
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