Media Release: AIS Condemns ICE Actions at Chicago Courthouse
Enforcement actions at courthouses thwart due process and create a climate of fear
September 8, 2025 — The Alliance for Immigrant Survivors strongly condemns the actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Cook County Domestic Violence Courthouse in Chicago this past week.
“This alarming enforcement action undermines both safety and justice for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence, raises serious due process concerns, and sends a chilling message to immigrant survivors across the nation,” said Cecelia Friedman Levin, Advocacy Coordinator at the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors. “Courthouses should be places of refuge and accountability and not sites of surveillance, fear, or immigration enforcement. Survivors seeking protection orders, pursuing safety, testifying as witnesses, or supporting family members should never be forced to weigh their need for safety against the risk of deportation. When ICE intrudes into these spaces, it re-traumatizes survivors, deters them from participating in the criminal justice system, and erodes the trust that is essential for courts and service providers to function effectively.”
”The use of domestic violence allegations as a justification for immigration enforcement is indefensible,” said Cristina Velez, Legal & Policy Director at ASISTA. “Survivors and defendants alike must retain the right to due process. Domestic violence charges do not erase constitutional protections, nor do they justify immigration enforcement in a courthouse. The justice system must be allowed to reach its conclusions without ICE weaponizing the process against immigrant communities.”
“These arrests did not occur in isolation, and follow a troubling trend of arresting individuals at immigration courts who are entitled to due process and a fair proceeding,” said Alexander Delgado, Policy Director of Esperanza United. “Recent executive orders, policy changes, and escalated enforcement activities have already instilled fear in immigrant communities and eroded trust between immigrants and government institutions. Courthouse arrests only exacerbate this climate of fear. Advocates around the country have reported that immigrant survivors are uncertain about whether it is safe to call the police, file for a protection order, or show up for a court date.”
“Having ICE wait outside of courts is not just misguided—it is dangerous. It chills the willingness of survivors and witnesses to appear in court, it obstructs the pursuit of justice, and it undermines the very mission of the justice system itself. A courthouse should not be a trap. It should be a venue for accountability, fairness, and justice,” said Casey Carter Swegman, Director of Public Policy at the Tahirih Justice Center. “Immigration enforcement at courthouses turns that promise upside down, weaponizing the justice system against the very people it is supposed to protect. Communities can only be safe—and crime can only be reduced—when all survivors and witnesses feel secure in coming forward. When doors to safety close on immigrant survivors, they can feel silenced, abusers are empowered, crimes go unreported, and public safety is compromised for everyone.”
This incident contradicts the intent of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which includes confidentiality provisions and protections to ensure survivors can safely seek help regardless of immigration status (8 U.S.C. 1229(e)). These enforcement actions also do not seem to comport with current Department of Homeland Security Guidance, which states that courthouse arrests should, to the extent practicable, continue to take place in non-public areas of the courthouse and utilize the court's non-public entrances and exits. Prior DHS guidance expressly recognized that “Executing civil immigration enforcement actions in or near a courthouse may chill individuals' access to courthouses and, as a result, impair the fair administration of justice.”
“By targeting individuals at a domestic violence courthouse, ICE undermines decades of efforts to build trust among survivors in justice systems. This single detainment reverberates far beyond one case—it tells every immigrant survivor that the courts cannot guarantee safety,” said Linda Phan, Director of Policy, at the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-based Violence.
AIS calls on Federal, state, and local leaders to immediately course correct:
End Enforcement in Sensitive Locations: DHS must immediately and unequivocally prohibit immigration enforcement in domestic violence and family courts.
Uphold Due Process: Immigration enforcement must not override judicial outcomes in criminal proceedings.
Codify Protections: Congress should permanently enshrine sensitive location protections into law and reaffirm the confidentiality safeguards in VAWA.
Rebuild Trust: Federal, state, and local leaders must take steps to restore confidence that immigrant survivors can access justice without fear.
AIS is a national network of advocates and allies dedicated to defending and advocating for policies that ensure immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, and other gender-based abuses have access to life-saving protections that all survivors of violence deserve. AIS Co-Chair organizations include The Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, ASISTA Immigration Assistance, Esperanza United, and Tahirih Justice Center.