ICE entered an Oakland courthouse. Court officials didn't know agents were in the building

"The video, taken Sept. 15, shows a man wearing a white T-shirt and black pants, his hands cuffed behind his back. He's being walked out of the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland. Flanked by three men - presumably U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents - in plain clothes, the man is led to an unmarked black SUV. One of the agents appears to have a firearm on his hip."

"From there, a masked man armed with a pistol - wearing what appears to be a green bulletproof vest with the words "Police HSI" on the back - opens the door to the back seat, and the man in handcuffs is made to get inside. (HSI stands for Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.) The man was whisked away to an immigration detention facility, according to a statement from the Alameda County Public Defender's Office."

"Other California counties have seen ICE agents enter courthouses this year to make arrests, and the practice has been criticized by state and local leaders who argue it will lead many people to fear appearing in court, undermining the integrity of the criminal justice system. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said in July that "making courthouses a focus of immigration enforcement hinders, rather than helps, the administration of justice by deterring witnesses and victims from coming forward and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights.""

On Sept. 15, a handcuffed man in a white T-shirt and black pants was escorted from the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland by plainclothes agents and led to an unmarked black SUV. A masked man wearing a green vest labeled "Police HSI" and armed with a pistol opened the rear door and the man was placed inside, then taken to an immigration detention facility. Similar ICE arrests have occurred in other California courthouses, raising concerns that courthouse enforcement will deter witnesses and victims and undermine the administration of justice. State law faces limits in preventing federal immigration authorities from entering courthouses.

Read at The Oaklandside