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Essential Case Highlights

• Federal-State Clash Intensifies: DOJ sues New York, Governor Hochul, and Attorney General Letitia James, challenging the constitutionality of the “Protect Our Courts Act” and related executive orders.
• Criminal Penalties for ICE Agents: The Act threatens federal agents with criminal and civil liability for performing their duties in or near state courthouses.
• Supremacy Clause in Focus: At the heart of the case is whether states can obstruct or penalize federal immigration enforcement under the U.S. Constitution.

By Samuel Lopez – USA Herald

The Justice Department is escalating its legal battle with New York, taking direct aim at Governor Kathleen Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James over a state law that, according to federal officials, goes beyond sanctuary policy and ventures into the territory of criminalizing immigration enforcement. At stake: the federal government’s power to carry out immigration laws inside the Empire State’s courthouses—and the very limits of state resistance to federal authority.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - On June 12, 2025, the DOJ filed suit in federal court against New York, Hochul, and James, seeking to block enforcement of the Protect Our Courts Act (POCA) and two executive orders. The complaint accuses state leaders of “obstructing the execution of federal immigration authorities” by criminalizing civil immigration arrests at or near courthouses, and forbidding state officials from sharing information with ICE.

The complaint’s opening lines cut to the heart of the matter:

“The State of New York has issued a blanket prohibition, through its ‘Protect Our Courts Act,’ purporting to block civil immigration arrests and shield aliens, including those subject to lawful detention and removal orders, while they attend or travel to or from New York court proceedings.”

What Does the Protect Our Courts Act Do?

Passed initially in 2020 and now expanded, POCA prohibits civil immigration arrests for anyone “attending a court proceeding” or any “family or household member” (a definition, the DOJ argues is so broad it includes former roommates and virtually anyone in an “intimate relationship” with the party) unless there is a judicial warrant. Notably, POCA makes it a crime to arrest someone in violation of this law, exposing ICE agents to prosecution for contempt of court or false imprisonment, with penalties of up to four years in prison.

Willful violations of POCA or related court orders also expose agents—and anyone assisting them—to civil lawsuits for damages and attorneys’ fees, brought by the New York Attorney General or private individuals.