REFILE-US judiciary raises concerns about Marshals Service's new immigration focus

Adds dropped "s" in "Marshals" in headline

By Nate Raymond

Feb 27 (Reuters) - The head of a U.S. judiciary panel tasked with addressing criminal justice issues is raising concerns about the Trump administration's decision to empower the U.S. Marshals Service to carry out immigration arrests.

The marshals' new authority, which could include detaining defendants making court appearances or who were granted bail, raises important questions that the judiciary needs further clarity on, U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang, the chair of the U.S. Judicial Conference's Committee on Criminal Law, said in an internal Wednesday memo sent to federal judges nationally.

"Generally speaking, it is important for the federal judiciary to understand how these new responsibilities might impact the USMS's role in providing pretrial-detainee management and judicial security," he wrote.

The Marshals Service did not respond to a request for comment.

The new authority was granted to the agency on January 22, when the U.S. Department of Homeland Security authorized law enforcement agencies under the U.S. Justice Department, including the Marshals Service, to act as immigration officers as the Trump administration pushes to ramp up deportations.

In a memo shared on Wednesday with judges nationally, Acting U.S. Marshals Service Director Mark Pittella made clear that the new authority permitted it to hold, detain and arrest migrants who are in prison, jail or have been recently released from custody.

Chang, an appointee of Democratic former President Barack Obama in Chicago, in his memo said that while he appreciated the Marshals Service's decision to reach out to discuss the new policy, "the potential arrest and detention of defendants who have been released for pretrial-bail purposes raise questions that would seem nationwide in scope."

He said during a recent meeting with the leadership of the Marshals Service, which provides security to courthouses and oversees pre-trial detention of defendants, the agency would not rule out the possibility of conducting immigration arrests in courthouses themselves.

Chang said the Marshals Service in his discussions with its leadership also "did not foreclose the possibility of arresting alien defendants who have already been ordered released by the court when they return to court for a hearing or some other required appearance."

That could include legal permanent residents — over 1,300 of whom were granted bail over the last two years — and defendants reporting to pretrial services or a probation officer as a condition of their release or sentence, Chang wrote.

Chang said the judiciary has yet to receive clarity on the extent to which facilities the Marshals Service uses to hold pretrial detainees would be now used to house defendants who otherwise would be out on bail or to house migrants who were not charged criminally but are subject to deportation.

Chang said he has offered to continue to meet with the agency's leadership in order to gain more insight into its new immigration enforcement authority but wanted to make judges aware of it "as soon as possible."