A high school student interning at the Rhode Island Superior Court was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after they allegedly mistook him for someone else, prompting a judge to intervene in person.
The incident happened on Thursday, Nov. 20, in Providence, according to CNN and WPRI 12. Court staffers said the teen noticed someone photographing him inside a courtroom. When courthouse security asked the person to stop, the individual identified themselves as an ICE agent, staffers told the outlets.
Witnesses said the teen appeared shaken by the encounter. Superior Court Associate Justice Joseph McBurney then offered to drive him back to his high school, according to staff.
Video from the scene shows ICE agents approaching McBurney’s car, questioning the judge, and then restraining the teen’s arms behind his back before escorting him from the vehicle. After checking his identification, agents released the teen, CNN and WPRI 12 reported. His name has not been made public.
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the agency had been targeting a child predator during the Nov. 20 operation and that officers “briefly questioned someone who resembled the target.” She added that the teen “was never arrested or taken into custody.”
The Rhode Island Judiciary confirmed the incident in a press release, saying that without the judge’s insistence that agents had the wrong person, the student might have been taken into custody. Once ICE verified his identity, the release said, the teen was immediately freed.
Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell called the incident “egregious,” saying it reflects broader concerns about how ICE is conducting operations in the state. He added that the episode underscores the need for more remote hearings “in Providence County and beyond” to help preserve access to justice in the current climate.
Gov. Dan McKee also condemned the encounter, calling it “an outrageous and indefensible act that could have completely upended a young person’s life.” He said Rhode Islanders should not have to fear federal agents acting with “reckless disregard for the law and human dignity,” and criticized the Trump Administration’s policies as the root cause of the mistake.
