Democrat Officials in Massachusetts Sue to Block ICE Arrests

ICE Officer
David Maung/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Neil Munro

Two progressive District Attorneys in Massachusetts are suing the ICE enforcement agency to stop courthouse arrests and deportations of illegal migrants.

The lawsuit comes a week after federal officials indicted a progressive judge and a courtroom officer in Newton, Mass., for helping a twice departed suspected drug smuggler escape from deportation. The two Newton officials are facing huge fines and years in prison.

“This lawsuit seeks a declaration from the court that the written ICE directive, which authorized the arrest of people on civil charges using the courts of the Commonwealth, is unlawful,” said a statement from Marian Ryan, the District Attorney in the huge Middlesex county, northeast of Boston. She describes herself as “a proven progressive,” and she said:

[The lawsuit] also seeks a finding that the policy in place and being enforced by ICE violates both the constitutional rights of individuals to access the courts and the longstanding federal and Massachusetts common law privilege against such arrests.

Ryan helped to create a political coalition to champion the interests of immigrants in her country.

The lawsuit is also led by Rachel Rollins, the District Attorney in Suffolk County, which lies south and east of Boston. She argued that ICE deportations “chill” the willingness of locals to testify against legal immigrants and illegal migrants:

I do not take this action lightly. But standing by silently as immigration officials under the explicit direction of the president of the United States strip our justice system of its ability to function simply isn’t an option.

…

As prosecutors, we cannot fulfill our statutory obligation to victims of crimes when ICE unilaterally engages in civil arrests. Our legislature here in Massachusetts under Mass. General Laws Chapter 258B created a victim’s bill of rights, which could be violated every time ICE conducts a civil arrest and removes someone from a courthouse without our knowledge

Her statement also suggested that the victims of crime by foreigners may be afraid of ICE deportation officers, as might happen if the victims are themselves illegal migrants:

When federal immigration authorities place themselves inside the very courthouses that vulnerable individuals rely on for hope and justice, it creates a chilling effect. And an even greater sense of fear. Not only are people afraid of violent offenders, but they are also terrified of the authorities.

Rollins also suggested that illegals should not be deported unless they commit a “serious felony,” saying:

I have made clear time and time again that I take no issue with immigration officials removing a noncitizen convicted of a serious felony.

Nationwide, one million illegal migrants are eluding deportation from the United States, even after getting final orders of removal from federal judges.

Another ten million to 20 million illegals live in the United States, despite deportation laws.

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