11 Jun ICE Arrests at Concord Courthouse Spark Protests and Canceled Hearings

Luis Arturo Medina Garcia, standing outside the Concord immigration court on Tuesday, displays the scars left behind after he was shot by Mexican drug cartel members. An asylum seeker, he had driven from Washington state for a hearing that was canceled when the courthouse closed in response to protests.

Story and photos by Denis Perez-Bravo

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested four asylum seekers at a Concord courthouse on Tuesday, prompting protests and a shutdown of court proceedings — a move advocates say threatens due process and discourages court participation.

The arrests at the Concord immigration courthouse prompted hundreds of demonstrators to gather outside, shutting down the building and forcing the cancellation of scheduled hearings, including one for Luis Arturo Medina Garcia, an asylum seeker who had waited more than a year for his master calendar hearing.

Sergio Lopez, defense coordinator for the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance, said agents began arresting people inside courthouse corridors last month — a departure from previous practices of following them to an alternate location.

“Before there was some arrest, but outside, not in the actual courtroom,” Lopez said. “Which is really terrible because (it violates) due process.”

Garcia fled cartel violence after being shot three times by members of Los Caballeros Templarios, a.k.a. The Knights Templar cartel, at a family party in Apatzingan, Michoacán, Mexico.

“One person was targeted, but they shot everywhere,” Garcia said, lifting his shirt to reveal scars from gunshot wounds. “My organs were ripped apart, and I was left for dead.”

Garcia legally entered the United States two years ago seeking asylum.

With his hearing cancelled, he faced a 16-hour drive back to Seattle, where he now lives, though his immigration case remains tied to the Bay Area court.

He said he feels “disappointed” by how ICE operations have disrupted his efforts to build a new life.

Sean Lai McMahon, senior attorney at the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, said the arrests represent “a big show of force” that could deter other immigrants from attending required court hearings.

“If people take it the wrong way, then you end up with 100 people out there with deportation orders for non-appearance,” McMahon said.

The Concord immigration court began hearing deportation cases in 2024, serving 11 counties including Contra Costa, Solano, Fresno and parts of Alameda. With no guaranteed right to legal representation, many defendants navigate the complex system without attorneys.

The local advocacy groups CCIJ and CCIRA created the Legal Empowerment Initiative to provide volunteer attorneys and resources for unrepresented immigrants.

Despite the intimidation tactics, McMahon said his organization maintains daily volunteers at the courthouse.

“We don’t know if ICE will be here next week or next month, but we know that we are here,” he said. “And so if they show up, we’re here already. Ready to help people.”

Video captured by KPIX Bay Area showed federal agents scuffling with protesters outside the building. Protesters blocked an unmarked ICE vehicle and followed agents trying to re-enter the building before the courthouse closed around 1 p.m.

ICE agents also arrested multiple individuals the same day outside San Francisco’s federal immigration court at 100 Montgomery Street, sparking major protests, according to reports by El Tecolote.

Plainclothes agents detained at least two people and placed them into unmarked vans.

Hundreds of protesters gathered, blocking ICE vehicles and chanting in support of immigrants. In response to safety concerns, immigration court judges suspended afternoon hearings, according to the article.

The arrests in San Francisco and Concord are part of a broader nationwide surge in immigration enforcement at courthouses under the Trump administration, which itself has followed orders from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller to make at least 3,000 immigration arrests per day. The Associated Press reports this has forced many to decide “whether to show up and possibly be detained and deported, or skip their hearings and forfeit their bids to remain in the country.” Because as it is now, showing up for a routine hearing and having their case dismissed — previously considered a positive outcome for immigrants — can result in them being put up for expedited removal.