Homeland security officials defend immigration court arrests after being sued

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday defended its policy of having Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrest people at their immigration court hearings after a class-action lawsuit was filed that seeks to stop the practice. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the agency and ICE says the arrests of thousands of people at court have stripped them of rights afforded to them under immigration law and the U.S. Constitution. Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, told The Associated Press on Thursday that arresting people at immigration court is safer for law enforcement officers because the immigrants have gone through security and were screened for weapons.