Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have provoked widespread condemnation after wrongly detaining a 16-year-old high school intern outside a Rhode Island courthouse in a case of mistaken identity that has drawn sharp criticism from the state's highest officials.
Courthouse Confrontation Sparks Outrage
The incident unfolded on November 20, 2025, when ICE agents targeted the teenager who was participating in a statehouse internship programme. According to eyewitness accounts and video evidence, the situation began inside the Rhode Island Superior Court courtroom where an ICE agent was observed photographing the high school student.
Court security personnel reportedly asked the individual to stop taking photographs, at which point he identified himself as an ICE agent. The reason for photographing people within the courtroom remains unclear, though the action visibly disturbed the young intern.
In response to the student's distress, Superior Court Associate Justice Joseph McBurney offered to drive the teenager back to his school. However, before the judge could depart with the student, ICE agents surrounded his vehicle in the courthouse car park.
Dramatic Detention and Swift Backlash
Video footage captured the tense moments as at least six federal agents descended upon Justice McBurney's car, demanding both the judge and teenager exit the vehicle. Within approximately thirty seconds, agents could be seen restraining the 16-year-old's hands and escorting him away as protesters shouted objections.
"He's a f***** kid," one protester yelled in the recording, capturing the raw emotion of the scene. Justice McBurney attempted to explain to agents that they had made a serious error and that the individual they were detaining was a court intern, not their intended target.
The intern was taken across the street and eventually released after ICE verified his identity, according to the Rhode Island Judiciary. The Department of Homeland Security later claimed its agents had been searching for a "child predator" and had "briefly questioned someone who resembled the target," insisting the individual was never formally arrested or taken into custody.
Official Condemnation and Political Fallout
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee described the incident as "indefensible" in an official statement, blaming the Trump administration's immigration policies for creating an environment where such errors could occur.
"This was not a harmless mistake. It was the direct result of callous and chaotic policies by the Trump Administration," McKee stated. "Moreover, ICE's failure to exercise even a shred of due diligence is shameful and underscores just how broken and dangerous these federal policies are."
Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell echoed these concerns, noting that the incident validated protester anxieties about ICE operations around courthouses. "This egregious incident underscores both the community's and the Judiciary's concerns about how ICE is conducting its operations in Rhode Island," Suttell declared.
The criticism extended beyond state borders, with Democratic Senator Corey Booker of New Jersey denouncing the action on social media. "A teenager. A U.S. citizen. Detained by ICE at a courthouse. This isn't law and order—this is intimidation," Booker wrote, emphasising how such incidents undermine community trust in law enforcement.
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions surrounding ICE's practice of conducting operations near courthouses and schools, tactics that had already drawn protesters to the Rhode Island courthouse before this particular incident occurred.
