A person was arrested and detained by immigration officers at the Ozaukee County Courthouse in Port Washington on April 17, local authorities said.
After the person appeared in court for another matter, they were approached and detained by U.S. Immigration Customs Enforcement, Ozaukee County Undersheriff Marshall Hermann said in an April 18 email.
The identity of the individual is not immediately clear, nor is the identity of their attorney, where they were taken or the circumstances that led to their detention.
Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office deputies provide courthouse security, but Hermann said the office was not involved in the incident, except for providing ICE with a conference room within the courthouse to speak with the subject in private.
Hermann said the individual’s lawyer was also present before the individual was taken into custody by ICE and escorted from the building, he said.
Hermann said he had no additional information on the matter. An ICE spokesperson said the agency was not able to provide information on the detainment.
On April 18, the Journal Sentinel could not immediately reach defense attorneys at the courthouse, Port Washington Mayor Ted Neitzke and Chair of the Ozaukee County Board of Supervisors Lee Schlenvogt.
The ICE detainment is not the first to take place at a courthouse in the area.
On April 4, immigration officers arrested two people in the hallways of the Milwaukee County Courthouse and the Safety Building.
The incidents collectively raise concerns about the effects of federal enforcement actions near court hearings.
After the arrests at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Colleen Foley told the Journal Sentinel the “very sobering” arrests present a conundrum to immigrants with legal cases: either defend themselves in court or risk detainment, and even deportation.
“Due process is being lost in the mix here,” Foley said at the time. “This is still America. Due process applies. I would encourage ICE to honor that.”
An ICE policy in place since Jan. 21 allows immigration agents to make arrests “in or near courthouses when they have credible information that leads them to believe (the person) is or will be present at a specific location.” The policy is part of a larger rollback on guidance against immigration arrests in “sensitive areas” such as churches, schools and hospitals.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ICE agents detain one person inside Ozaukee County Courthouse