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Lawyers, judges see a chilling effect from immigrants' arrests at criminal courthouses

As the Trump administration seeks to scale up deportations, ICE agents have been increasingly seen at immigration courts and criminal courthouses. Defense attorneys, prosecutors and judges say they're seeing a chilling effect on criminal proceedings, not only on the defendants but on witnesses and victims.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Meg Anderson
Meg Anderson is a reporter on NPR's National Desk covering criminal justice. Before that, she was a reporter and producer on NPR's Investigations team, where she reported on delays in medical care within the federal Bureau of Prisons, the failures of the Department of Justice to release at-risk prisoners to safer settings during the pandemic, and the award-winning series Heat and Health in American Cities, which illustrated how low-income neighborhoods nationwide are often hotter in temperature than their wealthier counterparts. Additionally, she served as a producer for the team, including on the Peabody Award-winning series Lost Mothers, which investigated the high rate of maternal mortality in the United States. She has also reported for NPR's politics and education desks, and for WAMU, the local Member station in Washington, D.C. She is based in the Midwest. [Copyright 2025 NPR]

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