NY courts: No ICE arrests in courts without judicial warrant

NEW YORK – Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents looking to make arrests inside courthouses in New York can't do so without judicial warrants or orders.

That's according to a directive from the New York State Office of Court Administration that took effect Wednesday.

Immigrant advocates say courthouses in New York and elsewhere have increasingly become places where immigrants have been taken into federal immigration custody.

A report by the Immigrant Defense Project says there were 178 arrests in New York state courthouses last year, compared to 11 in 2016.

Advocates say immigrants have become afraid to visit courts as a result.

Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks says the system needs people to be willing to come to court "for judges to be able to do their jobs."

ICE did not immediately comment.