"You've got just as much right to be in any of those courtrooms as you have to be on the sidewalk. But that's actually not true, because all of the controlling law, including just generations and generations of every piece of controlling Supreme Court precedent, makes it absolutely unambiguously clear that you, me, and everybody else has a much greater right to be in that courtroom than we do on any sidewalk."
"If they close the sidewalk, there's, like, it's not really a loss to society, but if they close a courtroom, the constitutional injury across all of America is just immediate, and it is, it is huge, and it is ultimately devastating."
"The complaint states that members of the public have been prevented from entering courtrooms since 2025, something that the plaintiffs argue is illegal. Since June, amNewYork has documented ICE activity at 26 Federal Plaza and has observed clerks and security prevent members of the public from entering courtrooms, citing either that the courtrooms were full or that they were not accepting visitors on that date."
Attorney Stephen Kelly and immigrant advocates filed a legal complaint challenging ICE activity at 26 Federal Plaza in New York, arguing that intensive immigration enforcement operations have effectively closed the courthouse to public observation. The plaintiffs contend that since 2025, masked ICE agents have made the building ground zero for detentions, preventing members of the public from attending and observing legal proceedings. Security personnel have blocked courtroom entry, citing capacity or visitor restrictions. Kelly emphasizes that constitutional law establishes a fundamental right to courtroom access exceeding sidewalk access rights. The complaint argues this practice violates First Amendment protections and established Supreme Court precedent regarding public courthouse access.
Read at www.amny.com
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