Activist group to call for virtual court hearings due to reported courthouse ICE arrests

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A group called the Deportation Defense Line is calling on the Rhode Island Supreme Court and Governor Dan McKee to move all court hearings to a virtual setting.

They will hold a press conference to state this case outside of Providence Superior Court Thursday at 12:30 p.m.

The group said in a statement, in part:

ICE detentions outside RI courts have occurred once per week on average since late July, as witnessed by community members calling into the Rhode Island Deportation Defense Line and by volunteers with the Deportation Defense Network who have patrolled the courthouse daily since mid-September.

ICE is believed to wait outside courts because community members who are on the court docket can be expected to arrive at a certain time, and ICE can track and take them on the way into or out of the courthouse.

The group will be joined by Providence City Council President Rachel Miller, and said “over 45 organizations, lawyers, court workers and politicians have signed an open letter calling for virtual courts.”

ABC6 has reached out to the Boston ICE office for comment in this matter.