Oh the times they are a-changing.

Since President Trump’s inauguration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been active in Massachusetts. The Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) reports that ICE made arrests in East Boston, Chelsea, and Revere last week. And last month there were a series of ICE arrests in western Massachusetts.

So far these seizures have taken place in the community or at the suspect’s home. But, in the coming weeks, ICE will likely start appearing at courthouses throughout the Baystate to enforce U.S. immigration law.

In fact, the new ICE director recently issued interim guidance to agents making courthouse arrests. Here are a few key points from the new policy.

  1. Generally, ICE agents will arrest “targeted” defendants.
  2. If ICE agents encounter other non-targeted immigrants while at the courthouse, they may arrest them on a “case-by-case basis.”
  3. Whenever possible, ICE agents must make their arrests in a non-public area. In most cases, this means that agents will arrest their target when he is released from the courthouse lockup.
  4. ICE agents should generally avoid making arrests at civil court proceedings (e.g., family court, housing court, etc.)

Additionally, practitioners and immigrant defendants should be aware of the Laken Riley Act which Congress passed on January 22, 2025. According to the act, ICE can detain undocumented immigrants charged with “burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assault on a law enforcement officer, or any crime that results in death or serious bodily injury.”