At least one masked, armed federal immigration agent ran into the Elm Street courthouse in New Haven on Tuesday morning to arrest a man, potentially in violation of a state law limiting ICE activity on courthouse grounds. That arrest took place just before 8:55 a.m. Someone who was in the cou rthouse at the time and witnessed part of the encounter said that, first, a man ran through the front doors of the 121 Elm St. state court building. A few seconds later, another man — wearing a mask and a vest and armed with a gun — sprinted after him, running past the court entryway’s metal detector. A video recording of part of that incident shows that the masked, armed man’s vest bore the words “Police” and “Homeland Security Investigations,” which is a division of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The video also later shows two agents — including the one in the “Homeland Security Investigations” vest — taking a man into custody outside of the court’s front door. “We can confirm that ICE arrested an individual in the New Haven GA Courthouse this morning,” said Rhonda Hebert, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Judicial Branch. “The Judicial Branch did not receive any prior notification from ICE regarding the arrest.” Police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart confirmed that an ICE arrest occurred near the courthouse Tuesday morning. He wasn’t able to say whether the arrest occurred inside or outside the building. An ICE spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about who was arrested on Tuesday and why. ICE agents have popped up downtown with increasing frequency in recent months, usually to make arrests of undocumented immigrants who have shown up for criminal court hearings — a method of immigration enforcement that advocates warn will discourage migrants from showing up to court or reporting crimes to the police. Those previous local ICE arrests have typically taken place outside of the courthouse — on the sidewalk on Elm Street, or even on the Green. Tuesday’s arrest, meanwhile, appears to have taken place inside the courthouse itself. That could be a violation of a law passed by the state legislature in November with the goal of limiting ICE enforcement in or near courthouses. One part of that bill prohibits law enforcement officers from wearing masks “while on courthouse grounds,” unless they’ve received prior authorization from a judicial authority and it’s medically necessary. “Ensuring that all residents feel safe coming into courthouses and participating in our judicial system is essential to keeping all Connecticut families safe. That’s why the state passed restrictions on ICE activity [and] masked agents in courthouses,” New Haven State Rep. Steve Winter told the Independent in an interview Tuesday. He said that one of the top concerns he hears from constituents is about “the idea of masked federal agents terrorizing community members.” “We need to keep ICE out of our courthouses,” Winter said. “That’s what will keep our communities safe, and not these aggressive tactics” that ICE is using in the name of public safety. Mona Mahadevan contributed to this report. ...read more read less