Federal agents stand outside an immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits federal building, Thursday, July 17, 2025, in New York. AP photo

A video showing Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers attempting to detain a Jamestown resident as they left their immigration court hearing, following being assigned a new court date, has been shared on Facebook, reemphasizing concerns with local organizations about situations such as this.

The video was posted by Blue State’s Facebook page on July 31 and shared by the Jamestown Justice Coalition on Aug. 6. Justin Hubbard, Jamestown Justice Coalition coordinator, and Momina DiBlasio, New Neighbors Coalition manager, both said this is the first time they have heard of an incident involving a Jamestown resident, but Hubbard said his organization has received reports of ICE raids in Dunkirk, Olean and Salamanca.

When it comes to a situation such as this, no matter the person’s immigration status, Hubbard said it is important for people to still know and understand their rights.

“With our country’s broken immigration system ICE agents can operate differently than other law enforcement officers,” Hubbard said. “They do not need to identify themselves, and recently they have started wearing masks to hide their faces. The incident in Buffalo was a little different as they did identify themselves. But, no matter your status you still have rights and you can ask if you are being detained, and if they say no you are free to leave. If you are in America you still have rights under the Constitution, including the right to remain silent.”

Di Blasio emphasized that it is not just immigrants who are in the country illegally that are being detained and arrested by ICE, which she said is shown by the incident in Buffalo where the woman is being detained after leaving her immigration court hearing, with the approval of the judge to return for a second hearing at a later date. In some cases, Di Blasio said the Buffalo Immigration Court has agreed to allow people to come to their court date virtually through Zoom for their safety if they have a motion filed to do so. She emphasized the best things to do if approached while going into or out of court.

“Remain calm, ask for an interpreter, and don’t give any more information than is needed,” Di Blasio said. “You are not in the wrong. I believe ICE agents are relying on people being afraid and using things like the language barrier to get people to sign things they shouldn’t, and do other things that they shouldn’t be doing. Remaining calm and knowing your rights is helpful, though that is difficult as we see videos of people being hounded, but a level head is the best option.”

FEDERAL RESPONSE

Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, told The Associated Press on Thursday that arresting people at immigration court is safer for law enforcement officers because the immigrants have gone through security and were screened for weapons. The tactic is the subject of a federal lawsuit filed in the District of Columbia. It also conserves law enforcement resources “because they already know where a target will be,” she said to the Associated Press after the suit was filed in July.

“We aren’t some medieval kingdom, there are no legal sanctuaries where you can hide and avoid the consequences for breaking the law,” McLaughlin said in an email. “Nothing in the constitution prohibits arresting a lawbreaker where you find them.”

Additionally, she said people accompanying those going to their court dates have the ability to advocate for that person, ask why they are being stopped, if they have a warrant, for their name and badge number, for an interpreter and that they should record everything without recording faces as much as possible. According to Congress.gov, ICE agents may only arrest or detain an immigrant or suspected illegal immigrant with the issuance of an administrative or ICE warrant.

Both Hubbard and Di Blasio said that to them it seems that the current round up of immigrants is less about getting criminals and more about filling a quota.

“The data shows that the majority of people are regular contributing members of society,” Hubbard said. “They haven’t broken any laws besides the immigration law, which is a civil offense.”

According to the American Immigration Council, “physical presence in the United States without proper authorization is a civil violation, rather than a criminal offense. This means that the Department of Homeland Security can place a person in removal (deportation) proceedings and can require payment of a fine, but the federal government cannot charge the person with a criminal offense unless they have previously been ordered deported and reentered in violation of that deportation order. Likewise, a person who enters the United States on a valid visa and stays longer than permitted may be put in removal proceedings but cannot face federal criminal charges based solely on this civil infraction. Those who enter or reenter the United States without permission, however, can face criminal charges.”

VOLUNTEERS IN COURT

A diverse group — faith leaders, college students, grandmothers, retired lawyers and professors — has been showing up at immigration courts across the nation to escort immigrants at risk of being detained for deportation by masked ICE officials. Some volunteers have recorded arrests in courtroom hallways, traumatic scenes that are proliferating online. How many similar scenes are happening nationwide remains unclear. The Executive Office for Immigration Review has not released numbers of cases dismissed or arrests made at or near immigration courts.

For Hubbard, what has been happening in recent months with ICE is a concern for him and the Jamestown Justice Coalition as part of their mission statement as a community program is providing justice for all, saying “this does not seem like justice.” Di Blasio said New Neighbors Coalition works with immigrants and their main focus is to help them connect with resources in the community such as for workforce development or other more fun resources like the Audubon, but that their work does not require knowledge of a person’s immigration status.

“We see people of various statuses being detained, citizens, green card holders, those seeking asylum, those in compliance and doing the right thing,” Di Blasio said. “There is a rhetoric that people are not doing the right things they’re supposed to, but people are being detained even when they do. We want people to be and feel safe when they are following the rules, and obviously safety is a priority and complying with the immigration process is the best way to do that. But, if people are not safe even when they do, then what’s the answer?”

FEDERAL GOALS, LOCAL ISSUE

In the months since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has been shifting as much as $1 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other accounts to pay for immigration enforcement and deportation operations, lawmakers said during recent testimony in Washington, D.C., while Trump’s agenda calls for 1 million deportations a year.

Tom Homan, federal homeland security director, has insisted in recent interviews those being detained and deported are the “worst of the worst,” and he dismissed as “garbage” the reports showing many of those being removed have not committed violations beyond their irregular immigration status.

“There’s no safe haven here,” Homan said recently outside the White House. “We’re going to do exactly what President Trump has promised the American people he’d do.”

DiBlasio and Hubbard disagree. Di Blasio said the Buffalo incident should concern everyone, as it appears to not just be targeting criminals and those out of compliance with the immigration system but to be “throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks”. She added that this branch of law enforcement has very little to hold them accountable and that a lot of profiling is going on.

“If they are able to act in this way and violate the rights of this group of people, what’s to say they won’t do that to others?” Di Blasio said.

Hubbard agreed with Di Blasio, saying that he hears a lot of people that consider themselves conservative using the phrase “Don’t Tread On Me” complete with the well-known flag of the snake.

“It seems a lot of people are being treaded on right now, so to me that says that phrase to them doesn’t stand for all Americans, just people that look and think and have the same political beliefs as them,” Hubbard said. “If they are different, you can tread on them, and that’s discouraging.”

Both Hubbard and Di Blasio said there are multiple ways people can help this ongoing situation, whether by donating their time to different immigrant organizations in the area, speaking with people who may think differently political-wise, and just staying educated and informed.

“There’s this idea that we need to clean up our country, but that is not what is happening,” Hubbard said. “I think when people wake up it will be too late. I don’t think this is the bitter end, but it takes a lot longer to build things back up than it does to tear them down, so we need to stop the tear down so the build up doesn’t take the rest of our lifetimes.”

Along similar lines, Di Blasio added that there is an idea that the immigration process is one that is linear or easy and it is not. She said sometimes when people are reduced to a number or seen as a criminal it can be forgotten that they are also human.

“Regardless of status, everyone has value,” Di Blasio said. “Everyone deserves compassion and justice because they are human. It can be hard for people to remember, regardless of their views, that people are human and they do have rights. We need to remember our humanity.”