The Fight

On November 20, 2025, ICE agents in plain clothes and masks stationed themselves inside the Licht Judicial Complex — Rhode Island’s Superior Court in Providence — surveilling the courtroom of Judge Joseph McBurney. When the judge’s high school intern left the building, agents detained the teenager and surrounded the judge’s car, threatening to break the windows if McBurney and the intern did not exit. The incident lasted approximately 30 minutes before ICE acknowledged they had the wrong person: their actual target was a man in his 30s. The intern was in high school.

The wrongful detention touched off a legislative fight over courthouse arrest protections in Rhode Island — a state where, by early 2026, the federal district court was processing as many immigration detention challenges in a single year as it had seen in all of 2025.

Timeline

• 2025-11-20: ICE agents in plain clothes and masks observe Judge McBurney’s intern inside the Licht Judicial Complex; when the intern exits, agents detain him; they surround Judge McBurney’s car and, according to Sen. Whitehouse’s later account, threaten to “smash your fucking windows” if the judge and intern do not exit; after roughly 30 minutes, ICE confirms it has the wrong person and releases the intern
• 2025-11-21: Rhode Island Superior Court Associate Justice and Chief Judge publicly condemn the incident as “outrageous”; state officials including the Governor’s office respond
• 2025-11-22: CNN and national outlets report the story; it becomes a flashpoint in the national courthouse-arrest debate
• 2026-01-20: Providence Mayor Brett Smiley establishes ICE-free zones in Providence, barring civil immigration enforcement in schools, libraries, and municipal buildings
• 2026-02 (approx): RI state legislators Sen. Meghan E. Kallman (Pawtucket) and Rep. Jose F. Batista (Providence) introduce courthouse arrest protection bill prohibiting civil arrests at Rhode Island courthouses without a valid judicial warrant
• 2026-03-03: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse confronts DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, recounting the window-smashing threat and demanding she “send a signal down to your folks to stop that kind of dangerous and unprofessional nonsense, particularly in our courthouses”; Noem deflects by calling for more local-federal cooperation
• 2026-03-05: Rhode Island House Judiciary panel holds hearing on the courthouse protection bill and broader immigration enforcement restrictions; RI Black, Latino, Indigenous, AAPI Caucus backs a 7-bill package that also includes limits on ICE mask use and a state private right of action for constitutional violations
• 2026-03-23: Boston Globe reports Rhode Island immigration bills are advancing; earlier courthouse measure did not pass, and sponsors plan to push again
• 2026-04-13: U.S. District Court Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. suspends a rule requiring local co-counsel for out-of-state attorneys in RI federal court — citing “exceptional circumstances” from the surge in habeas petitions; 59 immigration detention challenges filed in 2026 alone, matching all of 2025

Key Actors

• Judge Joseph McBurney — Providence Superior Court Associate Justice; drove his intern and confronted ICE; offered to take the intern to his high school before agents surrounded his car
• Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse — U.S. Senator (D-RI); led Senate Judiciary Committee confrontation with Noem in March 2026
• Sen. Meghan E. Kallman (Pawtucket) — lead Senate sponsor of courthouse protection bill
• Rep. Jose F. Batista (Providence) — lead House sponsor
• Mayor Brett Smiley — Providence; issued ICE-free zone executive action January 2026
• RI Black, Latino, Indigenous, AAPI Caucus — driving the 7-bill legislative package
• U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. — waived local counsel rule to address habeas petition surge
• DHS Secretary Kristi Noem — refused to commit to changing courthouse enforcement posture at March 3 Senate hearing

Connections

Rhode Island’s courthouse fight is part of a regional pattern: Massachusetts documented 614+ courthouse arrests in 2025 (see massachusetts-sanctuary-vs-federal-enforcement.md); Ohio has a parallel fight in Columbus (see franklin-county-oh-courthouse-arrests.md). The RI legislation is modeled on New York’s courthouse protection law. The Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, RI — a quasi-public facility — is where most ICE-arrested New Englanders are held while fighting detention in RI federal court.

Sources

• CNN: High school courthouse intern mistakenly detained by ICE (Nov 22, 2025) — National breaking coverage; agent conduct details
• Boston Globe: Whitehouse slams Noem over RI courthouse ICE detention (Mar 4, 2026) — Whitehouse quotes from Senate Judiciary hearing; Noem response
• Brown Daily Herald: RI legislators introduce courthouse arrest protection act (Feb 2026) — Bill sponsors, bill content, legislative context
• Rhode Island Current: State House panel weighs restrictions on ICE enforcement (Mar 5, 2026) — Committee hearing; 7-bill package details
• Rhode Island Current: Smiley establishes ICE-free zones in Providence (Jan 20, 2026) — Providence executive action
• Boston Globe: RI immigration bills advance (Mar 23, 2026) — Bill status update
• Rhode Island Current: RI federal court allows out-of-state attorneys (Apr 15, 2026) — 59 habeas challenges in 2026; Judge McConnell’s waiver
• WPRI: RI judge intervenes after ICE wrongfully detains intern (Nov 2025) — Local coverage with courthouse sequence of events