A federal agent pushes journalists away while detaining someone in a New York City courthouse on in July. File Photo by Angelina Katsanis/UPI | License Photo
Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday brought by the President Donald Trump administration against a state law that prevents immigration arrests in state and local courthouses.
The suit, filed in June by the Justice Department, challenged New York's Protect Our Courts law, which was passed in 2020. The law makes people immune from warrantless arrests when attending a court proceeding in which they or a family member is a party or witness. It includes travel to and from the courthouse.
"To hold to the contrary would improperly elevate the concerns of the federal sovereign over that of a State and deprive New York of its essential ability to protect its sovereign interests in the face of undue federal interference," wrote Judge Mae D'Agostino, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, in her 41-page opinion.
Agents can still make arrests in federal courthouses.
