BALTIMORE — A criminal probe was launched after ICE agents reportedly detained someone inside Baltimore City Circuit Court recently.
Assistant Baltimore City Sheriff Nicholas Blendy told WMAR-2 News that agents showed up to the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse on June 24.
When questioned by deputies, the agents said they had an appointment with a Department of Corrections pre-trial division employee.
After confirming the appointment and agents identity, they were escorted by court staff to the pre-trial office.
Once there, Blendy said ICE took someone into custody and left the courthouse.
According to Blendy, it appears the pre-trial employee took it upon themselves to call ICE about the individual they ended up arresting.
Blendy says the employee's action was outside their official scope, and goes against agency protocol.
As result, the employee is the one now under criminal investigation.
Clerk of the Court, Xavier A. Conaway released a statement in full support of the Sheriff's investigation.
“Courthouses must be places where every person—regardless of background or immigration status—feels safe seeking services or justice. When immigrant families are made to feel unsafe in a place meant for justice, we all lose," said Conaway. "If our courthouses become places people avoid, then we’ve lost more than public trust—we’ve weakened the very foundation of equal justice in Baltimore City.”
Although most court proceedings are of public record, Conaway said he's "reviewing internal protocols" to ensure confidential information is protected.
It's just the latest encounter between ICE and courts in Maryland.
Currently the Department of Homeland Security is suing every sitting federal judge in the state over a standing order preventing immediate deportations of migrants fighting removal on habeas corpus grounds.
Despite courthouses being publicly accessible, Blendy said ICE agents are not permitted to "interrupt the administration of justice," even in spaces such as hallways.
Generally federal authorities enjoy qualified immunity when operating in their official capacity enforcing immigration law which the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled supersedes state law.
In the past U.S. immigration heads like Border Czar Tom Homan have threatened to arrest state and local officials who willfully obstruct their work.
So far Blendy says no such issue's arisen, as this particular investigation is squarely focused on the employee accused of wrongly calling in the feds.
ICE has not yet responded to our request for comment.
Baltimore is one of 10 Maryland Cities identified by the Trump Administration as a sanctuary jurisdiction.
While Mayor Brandon Scott has denied Baltimore's sanctuary status, Attorney General Anthony Brown has repeatedly discouraged law enforcement from cooperating with ICE, threatening civil liability if they do.
