Eighteen-year-old Zeneyda Barrera, a native of Nicaragua, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a Lynn, Massachusetts courthouse after being released on a misdemeanor charge that was later dropped. However, she is not the only immigrant who has been apprehended by ICE in state courthouses, and legal organizations are warning that more immigrants could face a similar fate under the new presidential administration.
Despite Massachusetts rules prohibiting courthouse staff from assisting ICE in detaining individuals, ICE agents can still gain access to courthouse holding cells to take custody of released individuals. Courthouse staff are required to process and release individuals as deemed by a judge, but if ICE officially requests access, they must comply.
Under former President Joe Biden, ICE generally avoided enforcement in non-criminal courts, but the agency can still arrest individuals deemed to be in the country illegally. It is unclear whether this policy will change under the current administration.
Barrera is still being held in a Maine jail, and the uncertainty of her release raises concerns about the continued enforcement of ICE in courthouses throughout the state.
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