California's top judge has written a letter to the Trump administration asking to have immigration agents refrain from hanging around courthouses in order to make arrests.
California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye addressed her letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
"As Chief Justice of California responsible for the safe and fair delivery of justice in our state, I am deeply concerned about reports from some of our trial courts that immigration agents appear to be stalking undocumented immigrants in our courthouses to make arrests," she wrote.
"Our courthouses serve as a vital forum for ensuring access to justice and protecting public safety. Courthouses should not be used as bait in the necessary enforcement of our country's immigration laws."
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have conducted several operations in recent weeks to arrest and deport illegal aliens unlawfully living in the United States. Critics of President Donald Trump say his crackdown on illegal immigration is instilling fear in undocumented people.
Former President Barack Obama, however, became known as the "Deporter in Chief" because thousands of illegals were expelled under his watch.
Cantil-Sakauye said "stalking courthouses" should not be a part of an ICE agent's job description.
"Enforcement policies that include stalking courthouses and arresting undocumented immigrants, the vast majority of whom pose no risk to public safety, are neither safe nor fair," she wrote. "They not only compromise our core value of fairness, but they undermine the judiciary's ability to provide equal access to justice. I respectfully request that you refrain from this sort of enforcement in California's courthouses."
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