ICE arrest of man outside Philly courthouse captured on video by Juntos

The ICE arrest of an undocumented man outside a Philadelphia courthouse — contested ground between immigrant supporters and enforcement officers — was captured live on video by Juntos advocates on Friday.

The Latino advocacy group said a community member had gone to the Criminal Justice Center in Center City for a court appointment, accompanied by a Juntos staff member, when he was approached by two men in plain clothes, later determined to be ICE officers. The two called out the man’s first name and then quickly handcuffed him, according to Juntos.

The video shows the legs, feet, and sometimes the backs of two men escorting a third, while the Juntos advocate repeatedly asks the officers for their names and badge numbers.

“Where is the order of arrest?” she asks. “Where is the warrant, signed by a judge?”

One of the officers responds, “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

ICE officials in Philadelphia did not immediately return a request for comment about the arrest.

Juntos issued a statement that called the arrest “unacceptable” and questioned how ICE had access to information about community members with ongoing court proceedings..

The advocacy group said the man was in court on charges of drunken driving, for the second of what was expected to be several appearances. He has not been convicted of the offense, Juntos said.

The group declined to identify the man.

Ana Victoria Sandoval Trinidad, the Juntos resource coordinator who was there, said in an interview Friday night that three agents appeared almost as soon as they exited the courthouse. Two of them stepped forward to make the arrest, even as she peppered them with questions.

“None of the questions were answered,” she said. “It was very disheartening.”

The officers gathered the undocumented man into an unmarked car and quickly left. He was being held in ICE custody last night, according to Juntos.

Juntos routinely accompanies community members to hospitals, schools, courthouses, or other institutions where they may want language and moral support.

The arrest was unusual in that it was captured on video, although U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents make arrests every day, in Philadelphia, the region, and around the country.

In the 2024 fiscal year, officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations arrested 113,431 noncitizens. About 72% had criminal convictions or pending charges, according to the agency.

Under U.S. law, ICE agents do not need a judicial warrant to arrest an undocumented person who is found in public.

Courthouses have been contested spaces here and around the country.

In 2019, an ICE agent appeared in Courtroom 906 at the Criminal Justice Center, flashing a badge and looking for a particular defendant. The incident led the city sheriff to demand that agents identify themselves to deputies if they are on duty inside a city courtroom.

The outside areas around courthouses have been equally contentious, with advocates insisting that those spaces must be off-limits for enforcement, and ICE agents seeking to make arrests at what they view as open, public property.