Statement of District Attorney Rachael Rollins on the Motion to Dismiss Filed in Civil Litigation Against ICE

“The way to resolve disagreements on matters of law is through the legal process. Our ICE lawsuit protects victims, witnesses, and community members, no matter their country of origin.  Courthouses, like schools, churches and hospitals, are places where everyone should feel safe entering and utilizing the services provided therein.  A federal judge’s decision earlier this year to grant our preliminary injunction barring ICE from making civil arrests in public areas of Massachusetts courts speaks to the strength of our case. I look forward to watching the case as it proceeds.

“It is local prosecutors who are holding violent, criminal offenders accountable. My office has had to find and return to Suffolk County violent criminals to stand trial. These are individuals whom ICE had deported for a civil, immigration infraction prior to their criminal trials. Those deportations by ICE did nothing to keep our community safe, did not provide justice for victims, and were done without notifying us or our victims.  We, as local prosecutors, have real victims that have been injured and deserve their day in court. I will always fight for victims, witnesses, and survivors and for immigrants, as they are often one and the same.

“When ICE civilly arrests people none of their constitutional rights apply.  For example, in a civil ICE arrest no Miranda warning is required. Also, if ICE criminally arrested these individuals they would be brought to a federal courthouse and a judge would oversee the entire process.  With civil arrests, ICE regulates itself and the process, if any, is purely administrative. This raises significant concerns.”