Federal agents escorted four immigrant rights activists out of San Diego’s downtown federal courthouse Thursday morning and issued them loitering citations.
The activists, who work to support people with cases in immigration court, said the actions are the Trump administration’s latest escalation of intimidation.
“Our access is being slowly eroded and I think today is an example of that,” said Patrick Corrigan, a volunteer with the group FAITH, which primarily accompanies people to their court hearings and immigration appointments.
Corrigan was one of four people issued $280 citations by agents from Federal Protective Services, or FPS, which is a subagency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
As they have been doing for more than a year, FAITH volunteers showed up at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse at around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. As usual, they split up into two groups — one went to the immigration courts on the fourth floor, while the other went to an ICE office where people check-in on the second floor.
Corrigan said he was approached by an FPS agent on the second floor.
“He said you can’t be here, there’s no loitering and you need to leave if you don’t have business here,” he said.
Corrigan, who has been volunteering since September, said he’s had several interactions with FPS. In October, one of them called him, “a terrorist antifa,” he said. More recently, another agent took a photo of Corrigan’s face and said he would be added to a database.
When the agent threatened him with a loitering citation on Thursday, Corrigan said he held his ground, expecting to be detained.
“I’d like to see it play out,” he said. “I want to hear what a federal judge says about that.”
FPS agents did briefly detain Corrigan and three others. Then they were escorted from the building and given the citations.
Another half-dozen volunteers left the federal building voluntarily without being cited.
A spokesperson from the U.S. District Court spokesperson told KPBS court staff do not handle these cases because immigration courts are supervised by the executive branch.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The approximately 650 FAITH volunteers undergo a 2-hour training session that specifically teaches them not to obstruct law enforcement, said Father Scott Santarosa, who is the pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, which runs the FAITH program.
“We really don’t interfere with arrests at all,” Santarosa said. “We don’t film, we don’t take photos, nothing to provoke agents.”
Since the program began, Santarosa has noticed federal agents restrict their access. For example, volunteers are sometimes not allowed to sit in immigration court and watch hearings. Volunteers are also no longer allowed to be in the waiting room where immigrants check in for their ICE appointments.
“Little by little, our ability to accompany people has been restricted,” he said.
Like Corrigan, Santarosa wants FAITH to fight the loitering citation and have a federal judge decide whether they are allowed to be there or not.
“We believe we ought to be allowed, that we have a right to be there and we hope and expect that it will be clarified,” Santarosa said. “If we are not allowed, however, than I think following that comes another battle.”
