The Clark County Courthouse in Vancouver, Wash., June 29, 2024.
Anna Lueck / OPB
On Monday, an undocumented Latino man was arrested outside of Franklin Elementary School in Vancouver, Washington.
Immigration officers confronted the man while on his way to dropping off his children, according to Andy Lara, president of the Southwest Washington chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC.
“Words were exchanged, specifically from (the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) that they cannot detain the gentleman with children in the car,” Lara said. “He was asked specifically if he was going to run if he dropped off his kids.”
Agents parked away from the elementary school. After the man dropped off his kids, federal agents stopped and detained him, according to Lara.
He said there was no specific reason given for detaining the man.
A similar arrest happened to another undocumented man last Wednesday, this time outside the Clark County courthouse in downtown Vancouver, according to a local defense attorney.
The unidentified man was on his way to a hearing in District Court but was stopped outside the front door, by what witnesses said were ICE officers, according to Lee Coffin, an attorney representing the second man.
“It was bizarre because usually in instances like this, people were picked up after they were done with court,” said Coffin, who did not witness the incident.
Related: ICE arrests 2 more asylum seekers at immigration court in Portland
The alleged arrests by federal agents in Vancouver echo similar recent immigration actions in other Northwest cities amid an aggressive crackdown by the Trump administration. They include arrests during immigration and asylum appointments in Portland, Eugene and Seattle.
ICE said it could not provide comment on the arrests without additional identifying information about the men, which advocates in the case declined to provide to OPB.
A civil arrest happening outside the Clark County courthouse would be unusual, according to court officials.
While criminal arrests do occasionally happen outside the county building, there are more restrictions about where civil and immigration arrests can happen so that the courthouse remains accessible to everyone.
An April 2020 rule issued by the Washington State Supreme Court prohibits warrantless civil and immigration arrests inside the courthouse or for people traveling to and from the court within a mile. That rule does allow the court to issue further orders if enforcement is required.
A separate joint policy of the Clark County District and Superior Courts says arrests in the courthouse are discouraged unless public safety is at risk.
“We believe that everyone should be able to openly and fairly access the court system whether they’re a person seeking a civil case, whether they’re seeking a protection order, whether they’re someone who’s been charged with a crime,” said Clark County District Court Judge James Smith. “State law and what our policy holds is that people should be able to have equal and open access to the court system.”
Coffin would not provide other details about the detainment of his client outside the courthouse, but said he did not know of other charges against the man.
Andy Lara, with LULAC, said as far he knows, the man detained this week near Franklin Elementary has no criminal record.
In February, Vancouver Public Schools reaffirmed its policy that limits federal immigration enforcement on school campuses. The VPS policy states that law enforcement must be directed to the school’s principal before being allowed on school grounds, and that officers must provide a court order or judicial warrant for review by the district superintendent.
