ICE detains three men outside SoCal courthouse, raising concerns for local immigration advocates - BERITAJA

At slightest 3 men were taken into custody by national agents extracurricular a San Bernardino County Superior Court connected Thursday successful what advocates are calling an alarming summation of migration enforcement actions extracurricular courthouses successful the region.

Federal migration agents were seen successful the courthouse parking batch successful Rancho Cucamonga about 9 a.m. and began arresting individuals arsenic they near the building until about noon, advocates said. Witnesses told ABC7 one man was surrounded by agents successful the parking batch pinch his boy conscionable earlier 9:30 a.m. Video showed masked agents surrounding an individual, handcuffing him and placing him successful the backmost of an SUV.

Similar detentions person occurred extracurricular courthouses successful San Bernardino and Riverside successful caller months, said Lizbeth Abeln, executive head of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice.

Federal agents arresting a man extracurricular of a courthouse successful Rancho Cucamonga connected Thursday.

(KTLA)

“We spot this arsenic a usurpation of their owed process,” Abeln said. “It’s not for illustration ICE is arresting them based disconnected migration violations. They’re trying to target group who person had immoderate type of brushwood pinch rule enforcement. But, successful America, we person owed process which intends you’re guiltless until proven guilty. But successful these cases group don’t person the opportunity to extremity their lawsuit aliases adjacent it out.”

The Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol were astatine the courthouse connected Thursday for targeted migration operations and arrested 3 people, 2 of whom were from Columbia and 1 from Mexico.

Godofredo Chiquete Lopez overstayed successful the United States aft entering successful 2007 connected a tourer visa, according to Homeland Security. He’s charged pinch 2 felony counts of battle pinch a deadly limb that was not a firearm, a misdemeanor count of deed and tally and imaginable sentencing enhancements for awesome bodily wounded connected a personification associated pinch an incident successful 2023. He has pleaded not blameworthy to each charges, according to San Bernardino County tribunal records.

A Homeland Security spokesperson said different personification taken into ICE custody, Alexander Pacheco Sabogal, of Columbia, was arrested connected suspicion of battery. No criminal charges person been revenge against Sabogal successful San Bernardino County, according to tribunal records.

“An migration judge ordered him removed successful 2023 aft he grounded to show up for his hearing,” a Homeland Security spokesperson wrote successful an email.

Cesar Andres Mendez Garzon, who was besides taken into custody connected Thursday, is from Columbia and entered the United States successful 2023 successful Arizona. He did not show up for a proceeding successful 2025 and an migration judge ordered his removal, according to national officials.

It is not clear why Garzon was astatine the courthouse connected Thursday. He is not charged pinch immoderate crimes successful San Bernardino County, according to online tribunal records.

“We request authorities and section rule enforcement engagement and information, truthful we don’t person to person specified a beingness connected the streets,” a Homeland Security spokesperson wrote successful an email to The Times. “Elected officials who garbage to cooperate pinch DHS rule enforcement are wasting rule enforcement time, energy, and resources, while putting their ain constituents successful danger.”

The Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, which advocates for immigrants successful the region, said astatine slightest 33 group person been detained astatine aliases adjacent the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse since October.

“Those are conscionable the ones we cognize about,” she said.

California rule prohibits civilian arrests wrong courthouses, but arrests extracurricular the buildings and successful the parking tons person occurred periodically since the Trump management began ramping up migration enforcement past summer.

In January 2025, ICE issued interim guidance that said officers could behaviour civilian enforcement actions successful aliases adjacent courthouses “when they person reliable accusation that leads them to judge the targeted alien is aliases will beryllium coming astatine a circumstantial location, and wherever specified action is not precluded by laws imposed by the jurisdiction successful which the civilian migration enforcement action will return place.”

A measure projected by Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino) would unit national officers to person a warrant signed by a judge earlier they could apprehension personification for a civilian discourtesy extracurricular a authorities courthouse.

Abeln said the conjugation is concerned that the beingness of migration officers successful courthouse parking tons will dissuade others — moreover citizens — from going to the building for hearings aliases to grip emblematic business for illustration postulation tickets.

“It puts full families astatine risk,” she said. “Maybe they do target an individual, but their family happens to beryllium non-citizens and past they’re targeted whether it’s connected tract aliases aft the fact. It’s a information concern.”

California Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero said successful a connection successful July that arrests could person a “chilling effect” astatine the court.

“Making courthouses a attraction of migration enforcement hinders, alternatively than helps, the management of justness by deterring witnesses and victims from coming guardant and discouraging individuals from asserting their rights,” she said.