Over 30 Rhode Island organizations, court workers, and politicians, including the Providence City Council, penned an open letter calling on Governor Daniel McKee, Chief Justice Paul Suttell, and the RI Judiciary to immediately implement virtual court hearings in response to the brutal kidnappings of immigrants by ICE at RI courthouses.
These organizations and individuals have joined nearly 2,200 individuals who signed the petition for virtual courts since it was launched in July.
The full text of the letter and list of signatories can be found at steveahlquist.substack.com/p/30-organizations-court-workers-and
In part it reads:
“Every week, ICE vehicles wait outside RI courthouses to abduct our immigrant community members. Since the end of July, we have witnessed over 20 abductions outside the courts, and those are only the ones we have seen. These community members are trying to navigate a system that fails them — like the well-documented case of a woman who was a victim of domestic violence, was never charged with anything, but was still kidnapped while leaving court.
We have had enough. With ICE agents acting as though they are above the law, obstructing people’s access to their legal proceedings, how are RI immigrants expected to pay their parking tickets, sue when their civil rights are violated, or appear for their court appearances? We are calling on Governor McKee, Chief Justice Sutell, and the Rhode Island Judiciary to expand access to virtual court dates for all people — to protect Rhode Island residents from ICE.”
The technical challenges of virtual court dates were worked out – because they had to be – during COVID. We have the technology to make this a viable option if participants in the case request it.
Already, many judges will allow virtual court dates on a case-by-case basis and at the judge’s discretion, so there is no major procedural or technological hurdle. The challenges are:
1. Any judge can currently deny such a request, although most do not.
2. Participants in the process and their attorneys don’t know that they have this option, or don’t think to exercise it and actually make the request.
“Providence and RI already have legal measures in place to protect our immigrant neighbors from kidnappings,” the open letter goes on. These measures make police and court collaboration with ICE illegal, but they have done little to inhibit ICE’s activities. So far, at least 350 people have been detained by ICE in RI since Trump took office, many of them as a result of simply attending a court date. Courthouses are high-traffic sites for ICE kidnappings, both in RI and across the country,” the letter goes on to explain.
Volunteers for the Deportation Defense Line (the hot line members of the public can call if they suspect ICE activity, with the goal of assembling witnesses to ICE abductions), have observed numerous cases where people leaving court appointments are seized by ICE as soon as they exit the building.
“ICE has even pulled over rideshare cars to seize our community members already on their way home,” the letter proceeds.
“This leads us to ask: How can ICE keep kidnapping people in this way without knowing exactly when they are leaving the building? Our courthouses are not doing enough to stop the informants or plainclothes agents who stalk immigrants inside the courthouses.
“Other courts across the country are already standing up to ICE. In Chicago, Cook County’s top judge declared that ICE detaining anyone near a courthouse is obstruction of justice. Under this order, ICE agents attempting to detain people at the courthouse could be arrested for contempt of court. In comparison, offering virtual court hearings is a bare minimum measure. After broad community organizing, the Providence City Council worked with the city courts to make virtual hearings universally available at the municipal and probate courts. The rest of Rhode Island must follow suit…
“Every Rhode Islander must be able to access legal proceedings without going in person to a courthouse, without worrying about being able to go to work or school the next day. This is an issue of safe access to our legal system. If our elected officials and justices care about our immigrant communities, they must take decisive action.”
Spreading awareness of this option, and making the option a standard disclosure for anyone who might need to log a court appearance, are simple steps that could be enacted immediately and could make a major difference in thwarting what has become perhaps ICE’s most aggressive tactic. The letter concludes, “We are not satisfied with empty promises; with every day that passes, more immigrant members of our community are being kidnapped at court. These are our fathers, mothers, classmates, neighbors, essential workers, taxpayers, and friends. Already, nearly 2,000 people have signed a petition for virtual court hearings. We call on the Governor, Chief Justice Sutell, and the RI Courts to protect our communities now by instituting virtual hearings immediately!”
Signed,
- Alliance to Mobilize Our Resistance (AMOR)
- Olneyville Neighborhood Association
- Party for Socialism and Liberation
- Deportation Defense Network of Rhode Island
- Providence City Council
- David Morales, RI State Representative
- Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island
- Rhode Island State Council of Churches
- National Lawyers Guild, RI Chapter
- The Pro Bono Collaborative at Roger Williams University
- RI Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- Fuerza Laboral
- Black Lives Matter RI
- SISTA Fire
- Refugee Dream Center
- Providence Youth Student Movement
- Reclaim RI
- Student Clinic for Immigrant Justice
- Brown University Alianza Pre-law organization
- Brown University Dream Team
- Providence Teachers Union, Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (PVD CORE)
- Conexión Latina
- Women’s Fund of Rhode Island
- Carla Avelado, Attorney
- Crystal Abreu, Attorney
- Dena Paolino, Attorney
- Gloria Peters, Community Integration Specialist working at Garrahy and Licht Courts
- Grace Voll, Press Secretary for the RI Treasury
- Jess Crane, Attorney with the Rhode Island Public Defender
- Nasama Winters, Legal Intake Secretary
- Sarnya KP, Social Worker