Protesters decry ICE arrests at Philly courthouse as sheriff’s backers say she’s been unfairly blamed
Some backers of the sheriff accused immigration advocates of targeting the wrong person, holding up signs that said, “Hands off Sheriff Bilal!”
Immigration activists carried a worn wooden lectern to the Criminal Justice Center on Thursday, demanding that Sheriff Rochelle Bilal step up and explain why she allows ICE agents in the courthouse.
She didn’t appear, and after a few minutes lead protest speaker Aniqa Raihan stepped away from the microphone, highlighting the sheriff’s absence by leaving the podium empty, save for the recorded chirps of crickets.
The quiet didn’t last.
As Raihan resumed speaking, she was quickly interrupted by counterdemonstrators, supporters of the sheriff who said No ICE Philly had unfairly maligned her. Her supporters said the sheriff could bar ICE from the courthouse only upon a judge’s order ― initiating a testy debate.
“It’s the judges that have to actually give the order,” said Andy Pierre, CEO of Fox & Lion Communication, who said he helped run the sheriff’s campaign for office. ”Her coming down here, and taking time away from managing her office, to come down here for this show …”
Other Bilal backers, at least one wearing a campaign shirt, also accused the immigration advocates of targeting the wrong person, holding up signs that said, “Hands off Sheriff Bilal!”
The No ICE Philly demonstrators responded that the sheriff is in charge of courthouse security. And that she does not report to Philadelphia judges.
No ICE Philly has castigated Bilal, saying that by not barring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from the property — as judges and lawmakers in some other jurisdictions have done — she has helped enable the arrest of at least 90 immigrants who were trailed from the courthouse and arrested on the sidewalk outside.
Three more people were arrested this week, activists said.
“Sheriff Bilal, we are watching,” Raihan said.
Conflicting views at Philly courthouse
In response to a request for comment ahead of the protest, the sheriff’s office said in a statement that Bilal had already made her position clear:
“The Sheriff’s Office does not cooperate with ICE, does not assist in ICE operations, and does not share information with ICE. That policy has not changed and will not change.”
The statement reiterated that deputies are prohibited from assisting ICE in courthouse arrests. The department’s priority is the safety of immigrants, residents, observers, and everyone entering the court system, it said.
Meanwhile, the statement said, the office would continue to protect the public, enforce its policies, and ensure that “no one is targeted or harmed because of their immigration status.”
Protesters say that is exactly what has been happening, that the sheriff has allowed ICE to turn the Criminal Justice Center into “a hunting ground.”
The issue has spurred contention between activists and lawyers who say the courthouse must be a place to seek and render justice ― not to target immigrants ― and federal authorities who insist that making arrests there is legal, safe, and logical.
No ICE Philly says agents have been allowed to essentially hang out at the Center City courthouse, waiting in the lobby or scouring the hallways, then making arrests outside, a pattern they say has been repeated dozens of times since President Donald Trump took office in January.
Asked for comment, an ICE spokesperson in Philadelphia said: “ICE respects the rights of individuals to peacefully protest.”
Contention over courthouses
Activists noted that many people who go to the courthouse are not criminal defendants ― they are witnesses, crime victims, family members, and others who are already in diversionary programs.
Other jurisdictions have acted to bar or restrict ICE activity at their courthouses.
In Connecticut last month, state lawmakers passed a bill to bar most civil immigration arrests at courthouses. In Chicago, the top Cook County judge barred ICE from arresting people at courthouses. And in New York, a federal judge dismissed a Trump administration challenge to a law that barred the immigration arrests of people going into and out of courthouses.
Nearly 11 months into Trump‘s second presidency, courthouses have become disputed territory as his administration pursues ever-more-aggressive arrest and deportation policies.
Under President Joe Biden, ICE agents were allowed to take action at or near a courthouse only if the situation involved a threat to national security, an imminent risk of death or violence, the pursuit of someone who threatened the public safety, or a risk of destruction of evidence.
The Biden restrictions on ICE were nullified the day after Trump took office. New guidance said agents could conduct enforcement actions in or near courthouses ― period.
The only conditions were that agents must have credible information that their target would be present and that the local jurisdiction had not passed laws barring such enforcement.
‘We want to keep our city’
On Thursday, about 60 demonstrators gathered outside the Center City courthouse, where they said Bilal must do more to protect immigrants.
The demand comes as ICE has dramatically expanded its presence and visibility in the Philadelphia region and across the United States. More than 65,000 immigrants are now being held in federal detention, up dramatically since Trump took office.
“We want to keep our city, not a city of fear, but a city of love,” said Elena Emelchin Brunner, immigrant rights organizer with Asian Americans United.
Imam Salaam Muhsin, a community leader, stepped up to speak as No ICE Philly opened the lectern to all. He said the climate around ICE had become “terrorizing” and must be addressed.
“What we’re doing right here, we’re doing it in a kind of ugly way,” he said. “And I say ugly because we haven’t come together. We still are stigmatizing one person, and that’s the sheriff. That’s unfair to her.”