Former NYC Comptroller and current congressional candidate Brad Lander, who was himself detained by ICE last June while trying to escort an immigrant out of a courthouse, posted this morning that federal court filings from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY reveal ICE has been lying for over a year about having legal authority to make arrests at 26 Federal Plaza and other immigration courts. Not just to the public. To prosecutors and judges too.
The DOJ’s own attorney said the government will withdraw multiple briefs that relied on the false memo, and prior court rulings based on that memo will need to be reconsidered.
This wasn’t a clerical error. ICE fed bad information to DOJ, DOJ argued it in court, and a judge ruled based on it. The whole thing was built on a lie.
Every courthouse arrest should stop now. Congress needs to investigate. And every immigrant grabbed while trying to do the right thing and show up for their hearing deserves accountability. Because what happened to them wasn’t enforcement. It was abduction.
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