RICHMOND, Va.– In response to a news report about ICE detaining two men after a Charlottesville courthouse raid, ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer issued the following statement:
“The ACLU of Virginia strongly condemns yesterday’s appalling detainment of two Charlottesville community members in a courthouse by individuals who asserted that they were ICE agents. Instead of clearly identifying themselves as federal agents or law enforcement, bystander video footage appears to show that these masked individuals refused to provide proof that they work for ICE and refused to show a warrant. With no official identification, no demonstration of legal authority, and no stated cause for arrest, this incident is indistinguishable from a kidnapping.
“Our courthouses should be a safe place for people to have access to the judicial process as witnesses, plaintiffs, or defendants. These kinds of actions will have a chilling effect on all of us, especially victims of crime and witnesses who are immigrants. Albemarle County should immediately launch an investigation into what happened here. Virginians should not be 'disappearing.' Period.”
