New York immigrants are afraid to seek legal protection: quarantine exacerbated the situation

From January to mid-March, as the pandemic spread, the number of ICE raids increased by 400%. At stake were those who provide livelihoods for New York - immigrants. Many of them are afraid to go to court for protection, since immigration officials can wait for them there. This threatens them with deportation, so they often prefer to remain in situations unsafe for them. About what needs to be done so that the path to justice is not a trap for such a vulnerable part of the population, writes Daily News.

Another crisis on the horizon

As in past crises, New York immigrants have been hit hardest by the pandemic. To a large extent, because they are predominantly employed in the city’s livelihood sectors, while their communities have historically been subject to inequalities in health and economics.

However, as New York begins the recovery process, another crisis looms in the judiciary. It can lead to further deterioration of the situation of our immigrants. This once again underlines the need for the immediate adoption of the Protect Our Courts Act.

On May 18, Chief Justice Janet DiFiore, head of the state judicial system, announced that courts would reopen in the counties, which had now approved guidelines for the reopening of courts.

This means that thousands of New Yorkers, whose cases have been suspended or who now desperately need to receive a protection order, child support or to fight evictions, will flood the judicial system and gather their halls.

Immigrants, especially undocumented ones, will again be forced to tear between trying to achieve justice and avoid the inhuman machine of deporting the federal government. But this time, the stakes are even higher.

Why did immigrants stop going to court

The Immigrant Defense Project, from 2016 to the present, has recorded a 1700% increase in the number of arrests in courthouses and attempted arrests by agents of the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE).

This escalation caused an immediate and alarming effect. Immigrant New Yorkers stopped reporting crimes or appearing in court as witnesses. With regard to domestic violence, this is of particular concern, since it means that immigrants prefer to live in a brutal and possibly dangerous environment, instead of going to court for protection.

On the subject: How ICE uses social media to track down and arrest illegal immigrants

The Judicial Administration recognized that if ICE's conduct were left unchecked, it would jeopardize the sanctity of justice promised by the courts. Therefore, ICE agents were forbidden to arrest people without a court order.

However, this change is administrative, not legislative. It applies only to what happens inside the courts, which are supervised by the New York United Judicial System (UCS). ICE agents can, and continue to, arrest New Yorkers in and around city and rural courts, as well as outside UCS courts.

Why is intervention so important?

Today, the need for legislative intervention is greater than before. From January to mid-March, as the pandemic spreads, the number of ICE raids has increased by 400% compared to the same period last year. This is completely unprecedented given that immigration enforcement is reduced during natural disasters, as has happened with Hurricane Harvey and California forest fires.

It is a shame and hypocrisy that immigrants from New York continue to be attacked. One third of all key workers in New York State are immigrants. They risk their lives to care for the sick, clean public places and feed the population.

Given that the ICE has been using the courts for many years to monitor and arrest immigrants, resuming the courts without adequate protection will further undermine the judicial system.

The Law to Protect Our Courts enjoys majority support in the Assembly and Senate. Its adoption will ensure equal access to the courts for all and convince immigrant New Yorkers that the judiciary is a route to justice, not a trap waiting to separate them from their families.

Every day, state officials praise livelihood workers and the contributions of immigrants, while there is little they can do because of the federal government. Nevertheless, the adoption of the “Law on the Protection of Our Ships” would be a clear signal that, whenever possible, we will do our best to protect our immigrant neighbors.

Finding illegal immigrants for ICE agents is a laborious and not always successful task. The arrest of only one immigrant often requires several days of observation. About how ICE agents track down and arrest immigrants, read in this material.