A dozen No ICE Philly protesters were quickly ejected from Philadelphia's Criminal Justice Center Friday morning after slipping in through separate doors, gathering in the main-floor lobby, and reading a statement demanding that immigrants visiting the courthouse be kept safe from ICE. Sheriff's deputies interrupted the reading almost as soon as it began. The protesters left when directed, then kept demonstrating on the sidewalk outside — no one was arrested.
The group, which wore red T-shirts reading “Signs Are Not Enough! We Need Policy Now!”, shouted “ICE out! ICE out!” as deputies moved them along, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. An unnamed member of No ICE Philly said the demonstration was meant to disrupt business as usual and publicize the group's demand that court leadership and the Sheriff's Office remove ICE from the courthouse altogether. The activists urged people to phone President Judge Nina Wright Padilla and Sheriff Rochelle Bilal directly to press for action.
Who Actually Shows Up at the Courthouse
Much of the urgency stems from who gets caught up in these encounters. Many immigrants who go to the Criminal Justice Center are not criminal defendants at all — they're witnesses, victims, friends, or family members there to support someone else's case, the Inquirer's reporting notes. That distinction matters because it means people with no pending charges have still ended up in ICE custody simply for walking through the courthouse doors.
One case illustrates the stakes: in April, ICE agents took a 76-year-old Indonesian man and his 47-year-old son into custody outside the Criminal Justice Center after the father appeared as a complaining witness, the paper reported. The father faced no criminal charges that day. Attorney Lilah Thompson told Philadelphia City Council her organization knew of at least 47 arrests at the Criminal Justice Center since January 2025, plus one at Family Court and two at the Traffic Division. No ICE Philly and allied groups say the toll is far higher, claiming more than 100 immigrants have been trailed out of the building and arrested on the sidewalk since enforcement ramped up.
A Policy Fight That Predates Friday's Protest
The campaign isn't new. Arrests outside the courthouse have been an urgent issue for Juntos and other advocates since the end of 2023, according to WHYY, and more than 5,000 people signed a petition presented to Sheriff Bilal at a meeting in February. No ICE Philly is part of a broader ICE Out of Courts coalition that includes Juntos, Asian Americans United, Victim Witness Services, HIAS Pennsylvania, ACLU Pennsylvania, the Public Interest Law Center, and the Defender Association. Attorneys with the Defender Association have described ICE agents waiting in courthouse entrances, the lobby, hallways, and even courtrooms in plain clothes, without visible badges or identification.
Advocates say the chilling effect is real and documented. The practice is having a direct impact on the justice system, discouraging people from showing up to court, according to NBC10. Attorneys and officials have said the arrests have caused witnesses and victims to stay away from court entirely, hindering the administration of justice. No ICE Philly organizer Carrie Rathmann has said fear of ICE keeps people from coming to the courthouse in the first place, and that she is demanding a specific, enforceable court policy — not just signage — to keep the agency out.
Where the Lines of Authority Blur
Immigration arrests at Philadelphia courthouses increased after the Trump administration eliminated Biden-era restrictions on courthouse enforcement in January 2025, per the Inquirer's reporting. Notices posted at the courthouse state that the city-owned or controlled property may not be used as a staging or processing area for civil enforcement operations — yet advocates argue that hasn't stopped agents from making arrests just beyond the doors.
Sheriff Bilal has said her office does not cooperate with ICE, assist its operations, or share information with the agency, a position the Philadelphia Sheriff's Office has detailed in a media advisory stating that ICE agents are not permitted to make arrests inside courtrooms or anywhere inside the courthouse. But the same advisory makes clear the office says it has no legal authority to intervene in lawful ICE activity on public grounds outside courthouse property. No ICE Philly and other groups argue Bilal has maintained that her security responsibility ends at the courthouse doors, which they say has effectively enabled arrests on the sidewalks beyond her jurisdiction. The First Judicial District has said the sheriff alone is responsible for decisions about managing ICE's presence at the Criminal Justice Center, according to the coalition's account, and the groups say First Judicial District leadership has declined to expand protections beyond the courthouse doors. Sheriff Bilal and First Judicial District spokespeople could not be reached for comment on Friday's demonstration, the Inquirer reported.
Looking to Chicago as a Model
No ICE Philly and allied groups point out that Philadelphia has lagged behind other cities that adopted preventive policies while, in their view, ICE has had free run of the Criminal Justice Center. In Chicago, the top Cook County judge barred ICE from arresting any party, witness, or potential witness while going to court — a policy that covers not just the courthouse itself but parking lots, entryways, and surrounding sidewalks. Activists have pointed to Chicago and Albuquerque as models Philadelphia should follow, arguing the city's protections should extend beyond the building's doors, per NBC10's reporting.
Rathmann has said other cities have adopted specific, enforceable policies and that Philadelphia could do the same. She has vowed No ICE Philly will continue its campaign following Friday's ejection. The coalition has rallied before outside both the courthouse and the Sheriff's Office, and Friday's brief but pointed demonstration signals the pressure campaign isn't letting up.
