Public defenders walk out in protest of ICE court arrests

NEW YORK – More than 100 New York City public defenders have walked out in protest of their clients getting detained at the courthouse by federal immigration officials.

The Thursday protest took place outside a Bronx courthouse, where attorneys say Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers are arresting their clients with no distinct pattern. WABC-TV reports the protest was sparked after ICE arrested Dembele Lanier, who was leaving the courthouse.

His wife, Zaquera Lanier, says the federal agents were outside waiting for her husband who was at the court to fight an assault charge in connection with a fight on a bus.

Lanier says her husband was brought to the U.S. as a 3-year-old, but wasn’t able to apply for protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program until last fall.

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Information from: WABC-TV, http://www.7online.com