This story has been updated.

Connecticut officials announced a new rule on Tuesday that seeks to ban federal agents from making immigration-related arrests inside the state’s courthouses without a judicial warrant or signed order. But the state leaders acknowledged there will be little to no way to enforce that policy if officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement continue apprehending people at the state properties.

Raheem Mullins, chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, announced the new policy at a press conference on Tuesday where he was joined by Gov. Ned Lamont and Rep. Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, co-chair of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee.

The issuance of the new policy is a response to the aggressive immigration enforcement tactics that have been employed by President Donald Trump’s administration and several high-profile arrests that were made by federal immigration officials inside Connecticut courthouses, including an instance at Stamford Superior Court where masked agents broke a bathroom door in order to take two men into custody.

More than 20 Democratic state senators cited that episode in a letter they sent to Mullins earlier this month, and they implored the chief justice to take steps to prevent ICE agents from using the public spaces inside courthouses to make arrests.

Mullins, who leads the state’s judicial branch as the chief justice, said the new policy was not arrived at “haphazardly.”

“Judges, staff, litigants, members of the public — they all must be able to conduct their business in our courthouses without fear of disruption,” Mullins said. “The due administration of justice requires that courthouse security be protected.”

The written policy, which went into effect Tuesday, specifically prohibits any arrest from taking place “inside the public areas of a courthouse,” unless the officers have a “judicial warrant.”

That’s an important distinction because most ICE arrests are made based on an administrative warrant, which doesn’t have the same legal force as a warrant issued by a judge.

At the same time, the new policy seeks to ban federal ICE agents from wearing masks inside Connecticut courthouses, unless the mask is “medically necessary.”

Lamont, who is in his second term as governor, called the new judicial policy a “modest step” and said he hopes it can withstand potential court challenges.

Mullins, who was confirmed as chief justice at the beginning of this year, said he was hopeful ICE would honor the court’s policy. But Mullins and Stafstrom both recognized that court employees and the judicial marshals, who maintain security at Connecticut’s courts, would be unable to stop federal agents from conducting arrests if they forced the issue.

“Court employees are not to interfere or assist,” Mullins said. “So that is the guidance that they get.”

“I think we need to be realistic,” Stafstrom added. “What we are enacting here is a policy change. It is a policy that says that we would appreciate if ICE would honor our request for them to conduct their activities — their lawful activities that they are charged to do under federal law — outside the presence of the courthouse.”

Stafstrom, a Bridgeport Democrat who was first elected to the legislature in 2015, said the new policy is necessary in order to keep Connecticut’s courts accessible to people.

He pointed out that people need to access the courts for more than just criminal cases, and he said some people including victims and witnesses of crimes could become hesitant to visit courthouses if masked ICE agents continue to apprehend people inside the state properties.

“Justice should not depend on one’s immigration status,” Stafstrom said. “If you are a victim of a crime, if you are someone who believes you’ve been taken advantage of by an unscrupulous creditor, if you believe you are someone who is wrongly being evicted from their house, if you are someone who seeks a divorce from an abusive spouse, you should be able to enter a courthouse in this state free of fear that when you try to achieve justice an masked, unmarked individual is going to grab you and pull you out of the courthouse.”

In a statement, Stephen Harding, Connecticut’s Senate Minority Leader, did not take issue specifically with the new policy implemented by the courts. But he used Tuesday’s press conference to criticize Connecticut’s Democratic majority for being too soft on crime and undocumented immigration.

Harding, R-Brookfield, specifically criticized the state’s Trust Act, which has been amended in recent years to prohibit police, correctional officers and other state employees from turning over people to ICE unless they’ve been convicted of more serious crimes in the state.

“The Judicial Branch made this decision in consultation with ICE in an attempt to ensure the safety and security of courthouses and those that visit them,” Harding said. “That’s their right to do, but this action highlights multiple glaring issues here in Connecticut.”

Maintaining order and open access to the courts is something that federal judges in Connecticut are also worried about as the Trump administration continues to ramp up immigration arrests nationwide.

In August, Michael Shea, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court of Connecticut, issued an order limiting where and when ICE agents could make arrests inside the three federal courthouses in the state.

Connecticut is not the first state that has sought to regulate ICE activity in local courthouses, either through new rules or legislation.

Court officials in Oregon and New Jersey previously issued directives and orders seeking to limit ICE arrests in state courthouses during Trump’s first term in 2019.

Meanwhile, other Democratic-led states like Colorado and New York have also passed laws seeking to ban ICE arrests in state courthouses — though Trump’s Justice Department is now challenging some of those laws in federal court.

Stafstrom said Tuesday that the General Assembly should consider enacting similar legislation in Connecticut.

Correction:

An earlier version of this story misreported that Connecticut officials announced a ban on all arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in state courthouses. Connecticut is banning ICE from making arrests in state courthouses without a judicial warrant or order issued or signed by a judicial officer.