A year-old Lincoln man who went to the Lancaster County Courthouse this week expecting to make a routine appearance on a misdemeanor ended up being taken away by ICE agents, his attorney says.
On Wednesday morning, he had gone to Courtroom 23 on the second floor of the Lancaster County Courthouse with his client and asked for a continuance in the case that started as an assault and battery charge for alleged threats on Nov.
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Then, two agents with U. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said they were going to take him. While it may be safer for officers to approach people at courthouses, he said, it also can make people more reluctant to go to court, even if it's on something minor. And immigration agents made arrests at courthouses during former President Barack Obama's administration and during President Donald Trump's first term, too.
But in , then President Joe Biden banned civil immigration enforcement activities at or near courthouses, with limited exceptions. Over the past 10 years, ICE arrests have been extremely rare at the Lancaster County Courthouse, with one longtime deputy saying he could remember only a couple. Who is going to be fixing our roofs? Who is going to be doing the hard work? He said it's important to open the dialogue because the country is so divided right now.
Immigration reforms are needed, he said, but it's a fallacy that immigrants aren't paying taxes and contributing to the country's coffers. So far, Nebraska State Court Administrator Corey Steel said he hasn't been getting any reports about an increase in immigration enforcement at courthouses across the state and has received only a couple of reports about ICE contacting probation offices.
