California chief justice responds to immigration enforcement at state courts
California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said she is “deeply concerned” by reports that federal authorities are arresting people at state courthouses.
That statement came just days after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted an operation inside and in front of a Butte County court in Oroville, about 65 miles north of Sacramento.
Sharif Elmallah, the executive officer for the county’s court system, said in a statement that officials did not receive advance notice people would be detained July 28 and did not assist ICE. Elmallah did not say how many people were taken into custody and declined to comment further.
Butte County District Attorney Michael Ramsey said in an email that none of his staff were at the courthouse at the time of the detentions. But he said that his understanding is that several people were taken into custody in a courthouse hallway as they were waiting for their cases to be called.
An ICE spokesperson, who did not identify themselves, said in an emailed statement that courthouse detentions were “safer for law enforcement and the general public because these criminals have gone through security and been verified as unarmed.”
The spokesperson, who did not respond to a question about the number of people taken into custody, added: “ICE will make thoughtful decisions in each case and do whatever is most likely to keep the American people safe.”
Guerrero, who is the first Latina to serve as the chief justice, disagrees with the approach.
“Making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights,” she said in a statement. The response came after The Sacramento Bee had asked the Judicial Council of California, which sets state court policy and is under Guerrero’s leadership, about recent detentions. “We will continue to monitor this situation and work to ensure that courts are able to fulfill their essential role in the lives of all Californians.”
She was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and sworn into office in 2023.
A spokesperson for Sacramento Superior Court was not aware of any ICE presence at county courts since President Donald Trump returned to the White House on Jan. 20. But court officials in Shasta, Los Angeles and Glenn counties told The Bee that federal authorities had detained people inside and outside courthouses there.
The detentions are in addition to those happening at federal immigration courts across the country, including in Sacramento.
