Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have infuriated Rhode Island’s governor, a senator, and its state Supreme Court chief justice after officers detained a high school statehouse intern on suspicion that they were an illegal immigrant.
Recordings of the incident show ICE agents detaining the teen, who was traveling from the statehouse to his school as part of an internship at the Rhode Island Superior Court. The teen was being driven to school by a judge when ICE agents intercepted them.
Governor Dan McKee called the incident "indefensible" in a statement.
“ICE agents wrongfully detained a high school intern outside the Superior Court – an outrageous and indefensible act that could have completely upended a young person’s life,” McKee said.
A court staffer familiar with the situation told CNN that the situation began inside a courtroom, where ICE agents were taking photos of the high schooler.
Security reportedly asked the individual to stop taking photos of people inside the courtroom, which is when the individual identified themselves as an ICE agent.
It's unclear why the ICE agent was taking photos.
The student was reportedly disturbed by the incident, prompting Superior Court Associate Justice Joseph McBurney to offer the student a ride back to his school.
Before the judge could leave with the student, ICE agents surrounded his car. The footage shows at least six agents descending upon the vehicle and asking the teen and the judge to exit.
Approximately 30 seconds later, a federal agent can be seen on the video restraining the intern's hands and escorting him away as protesters shout at the agents.
"He's a f***** kid," one protester can be heard yelling in the video.
McBurney explained to the agents that the teen is an intern at the court and that they had made a mistake, according to CNN, citing the staffer.
The intern was taken across the street and was later released after ICE verified his identity, according to the Rhode Island Judiciary.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security reportedly told CNN that its agents had been searching for a "child predator" and "briefly questioned someone who resembled the target," but that that individual was never taken into custody or arrested.
ICE has been criticized for stalking around courthouses and schools looking for people to abduct. Their tactics have become so commonplace that protesters were already demonstrating outside the courthouse before ICE detained the teen.
Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell said the incident only proves the point of the protesters at the courthouse.
“This egregious incident underscores both the community’s and the Judiciary’s concerns about how ICE is conducting its operations in Rhode Island,” the judge said.
Democratic Senator Corey Booker, who represents New Jersey, denounced ICE in a social media post on Sunday.
“A teenager. A U.S. citizen. Detained by ICE at a courthouse. This isn’t law and order—this is intimidation. It doesn’t protect our communities; it undermines them. It violates the trust people need to safely access the justice system,” Booker wrote. “It wastes law-enforcement resources that should be focused on real dangers, not innocent kids. We must condemn this and demand accountability. America is better than this.”
McKee blamed the situation squarely on the Trump administration, which has empowered ICE to operate with a vague and almost unrestrained mandate in America's cities.
“This was not a harmless mistake. It was the direct result of callous and chaotic policies by the Trump Administration,” McKee said. “Moreover, ICE’s failure to exercise even a shred of due diligence is shameful and underscores just how broken and dangerous these federal policies are.”
