Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins made a clear distinction on Monday between her employees notifying her of federal immigration enforcement in their courthouses and a district judge allegedly helping a man evade immigration agents.

But she’s not afraid to go to jail for challenging the arrests at courthouses, either. She argues that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s practices of arresting people of civil immigration violations is illegal, disrupts criminal prosecutions and scares off witnesses, victims and defendants.

“I am in no fear of arrest,” she said, "and very candidly, if I am, it would be my honor to be because we need to stand up and be very, very bold about this ridiculous behavior that our president is engaging in right now.”

Rollins stood with Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan, Committee for Public Counsel Services’ Immigration Impact Unit Director Wendy Wayne and advocates to announce a federal lawsuit against ICE over the courthouse arrests. The complaint alleges these courthouse arrests, which have increased over the past two years, have violated protections under common law, states rights and the constitutional right everyone to accessing the courts.

The end result? The local prosecutors and attorneys say defendants who appear in court are detained by immigration agents or stop showing up altogether to avoid ICE. Victims and witnesses don’t cooperate with local law enforcement and fear reporting crimes, ranging from domestic violence to labor violations.

Gladys Vega, executive director of the Chelsea Collaborative, has organized mediations to address issues between Massachusetts residents so they don’t have go to court and risk getting detained by ICE agents.

Rollins and Ryan were asked about the timing of the lawsuit, which comes a week after Newton District Judge Shelley Joseph and Trial Court Officer Wesley MacGregor were charged with obstruction following allegations that they helped a man evade ICE.

Ryan said there is no connection between the two incidents. The plaintiffs came together to develop the lawsuit more than a year ago with Goodwin Procter helping pro bono.

Rollins, who took office in January, said she learned of the litigation after a 21-year-old undocumented Cape Verdean man was arrested in the courthouse. He had shown up to a local courthouse on Jan. 7 to face cocaine trafficking charges.

“I made a phone call to the attorney general immediately to say five plain-clothes individuals just dragged somebody into an elevator while he was yelling for his lawyer,” Rollins said. Rollins said she was directed to the plaintiffs.

Rollins has come under scrutiny for her progressive stances on criminal justice. She campaigned on a policy to pledge not to prosecute individuals who are charged with minor offenses, arguing it perpetuates a racist mass incarceration system and prevents prosecutors from focusing on solving violent crime.

She expanded upon her campaign promise in a memorandum released last month, which included a brief section about immigration. In the memorandum, Rollins said her office will take immigration status into account when charging and sentencing as even misdemeanor convictions could get someone flagged by immigration agents. She also asked assistant district attorneys, witness advocates or other employees to notify her if they see ICE agents arresting people scheduled to appear in court or asking them about their immigration status.

“They’re not to obstruct, they’re not to get involved at all,” she said. “They simply call and let us know so we can have an accurate account.”

The lawsuit is already facing criticism from immigration hardliners. Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson wrote in a statement that barring immigration agents from a courthouse is the same as barring the FBI or the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Hodgson wrote, "ICE officers are federal law enforcement professionals who risked their lives every day and day out protecting our communities: Shame on anyone, especially elected officials sworn to protect their citizens, who sides with the lawbreakers over law enforcement.”