SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY

STUART RABNER

CHIEF JUSTICE HUGHES JUSTICE COMPLEX

PO Box 023
TRENTON, NEW JERSEY 08625-0023

 

April 19, 2017

The Honorable John F. Kelly

.S. Department of Homeland Security
Secretary of Homeland Security
Washington, DC. 20528

Dear Secretary Kelly:

In recent weeks, agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency arrested
two individuals who showed up for court appearances in state court. As Chief Justice of the New
Jersey Supreme Court and the administrative head of the state court system, I write to urge that
arrests of this type not take place in courthouses.

ICE recognizes that arrests, searches, and surveillance only for immigration enforcement
should not happen in ?sensitive locations.? Policy Number 10029.2 extends that principle to
schools, hospitals, houses of worship, public demonstrations, and other events. I respectfully
request that courthouses be added to the list of sensitive locations.

A true system of justice must have the public?s con?dence. When individuals fear that
they will be arrested for a civil immigration violation if they set foot in a courthouse, serious
consequences are likely to follow. Witnesses to violent crimes may decide to stay away from
court and remain silent. Victims of domestic violence and other offenses may choose not to
testify against their attackers. Children and families in need of court assistance may likewise
avoid the courthouse. And defendants in state criminal matters may simply not appear.

To ensure the effectiveness of our system of justice, courthouses must be viewed as a safe
forum. Enforcement actions by ICE agents inside courthouses would produce the opposite result
and effectively deny access to the-courts. 

For years, state courts and corrections of?cials have cooperated with detainer requests
from ICE and other agencies for the surrender of defendants who are held in custody. That
practice is different from carrying out a public arrest in a courthouse for a civil immigration
violation, which sends a chilling message. Instead, the same sensible approach that bars'ICE
enforcement actions in schools and houses of worship should apply to courthouses.

 

I worked closely with ICE and Customs agents when I served in the United States
Attorney?s Of?ce for the District of New Jersey and, later, as the State?s Attorney General. Like
you, I believe in the rule of law. But I reSpectfully urge that we ?nd a thoughtful path to further
that aim in a way that does not compromise our system of justice.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I would be pleased to discuss the issue

further.

cc: Thomas D. IIoman, Acting Director, ICE

Veiy truly yours,



Stuart Rabner
Chief Justice

(7
K.


John Tsoukaris, ICE Field Of?ce Director, Newark, NJ