ICE Courthouse Actions Restricted in Oregon

For many years, immigrants have faced an additional challenge to their participation in Oregon's judicial system: By simply showing up at the courthouse, they risked arrest by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. By targeting courthouses as venues for warrantless civil arrests, ICE deters parties, witnesses, and the public from engaging in the judicial process. In November 2019, Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters sought to stop this practice through the adoption of a new court rule that prohibits ICE agents from engaging in enforcement actions in and around state courthouses without a signed judicial warrant. More than 700 Oregon attorneys signed a letter urging the adoption of this rule. The petition was supported by documents secured through litigation under the Freedom of Information Act and led by DWT's Derek Green, Alicia LeDuc, and Meagan Himes on behalf of the ACLU of Oregon. This effort has secured one of the largest nationwide sets of public records regarding ICE enforcement activity to help educate the public about ICE actions in and around courthouses, which continues to be a hotly contested issue throughout the country. Advocates for the new rule relied on these records to demonstrate the scope, frequency, and character of ICE's enforcement actions in and around courthouses in Oregon.