More than four days after Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a man outside the Salinas courthouse, little is known about the man's identity and some local officials worry it could affect proceedings.

Early Friday morning, ICE arrested a man outside the Salinas courthouse.

Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo said he notified Monterey County Superior Court, county counsel and the Monterey County Office of Civil Rights regarding the incident and requested further investigation.

On Monday, Alejo released three surveillance videos of the man's arrest as he entered the Monterey County Superior Courthouse.

In them, ICE agents take the man away from that entrance and walk him toward the county's administration building, according to the videos, which are from the Monterey County District Attorney's Office cameras.

That entrance is guarded by a private security company that screens for weapons while the Monterey County Sheriff's Office provides courtroom security.

Court Executive Officer Chris Ruhl confirmed Friday that two agents with ICE arrested a man as he entered the courthouse at about 7:45 a.m. An ICE spokesman also confirmed the arrest.

Ruhl declined to release surveillance footage of the arrest, but did describe it. The video shows several agents approach the man, speak briefly and then take him away in handcuffs with "no indication of excessive force — he cooperated with the agents," Ruhl said.

"Our understanding is that we cannot interfere with ICE arrests outside the courthouse," Ruhl said. "We're currently determining what is acceptable inside the courthouse. Our main concern is these arrests in and around the courthouse of course have the potential of deterring people from coming to the courthouse. For us, it becomes an issue of access to justice. That's our top priority. Our chief justice has spoken very much on this and we agree with her. This is a serious concern.

"We have reminded our own court security staff that they need to contact court administration, my office once they see it happen."

He said he couldn't say why court staff didn't notify him of the arrest until the afternoon.

Ruhl did not know the man's identity or business at the courthouse.

The man remains unidentified — an ICE spokesperson told The Californian via email Monday he needs the man's name and birthdate in order to discuss his status.

The spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up email seeking additional information and comment Monday.

But the man had come to the courthouse with a woman and teenager, believed to be his wife and son, Ruhl said.

A county employee who said she saw the arrest had notified Alejo, and security at the court also saw the incident, Alejo said Friday afternoon.

The witnesses said they saw multiple agents arrest a man and place him in an unmarked vehicle with dark tinted windows.

"As I talked to security this is not the first time it’s happened. They said there’s been three other incidents where ICE has arrested other persons," Alejo said.

Initially, Ruhl said he couldn't confirm how many other arrests had taken place. On Monday, after researching them, he said at least two other arrests in the previous have taken place in the previous two years.

On April 12, 2018, ICE agents arrested a man outside the Salinas Courthouse as he was on his way to attend a criminal hearing, Ruhl said. A woman accompanying him was not arrested, Ruhl said.

About six months later, ICE agents arrested another man inside the Salinas courthouse, Ruhl said. They waiting for him in the hallway and arrested him after he left his sentencing in courtroom 2. They escorted him out of the courthouse, Ruhl said.

"We have asked ICE to inform and notify the sheriff's office when they intend to (make arrests at the courthouse)," Ruhl said. "I cannot confirm they are actually doing that."

They are not, Monterey County Sheriff's Capt. John Thornburg said Tuesday.

"We found out afterwards," he said regarding those arrests.

Alejo and Ruhl decried the arrest at the Salinas courthouse as shaking the public's trust in the Superior Court as well as potentially deterring victims and witnesses from showing up for a hearing.

In an April 27, 2018, letter, Ruhl also expressed those concerns, echoing a previous statement by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye.

In June, Cantil-Sakauye reiterated those concerns against President Donald Trump's threat of mass arrests of immigrants in the country illegally, saying in a statement it "could have a profound effect on access to justice in our state."

"For more than two years I have requested that courthouses be designated 'sensitive locations,' along with schools, churches, and hospitals," she said. "I am repeating this request once again, so that victims or witnesses to crimes can safely come to our courts to seek justice.

"Enforcement of immigration laws that upset the delicate checks and balances set up by our Founders undermines our democracy. Our three branches of government are co-equal; our local, state, and federal governments have overlapping authority. Each branch and each entity should take care not to act in a way that undermines the trust of those who rely on us to uphold the rule of law."

The same month, a federal judge in Boston ruled that immigration officials temporarily can't make civil arrests of people visiting Massachusetts courthouses, the first preliminary injunction like it nationally as a lawsuit challenging the practice plays out in court.

This story was updated with additional information from authorities.

The Salinas Californian reporter Joe Szydlowski and USA Today contributed to this report.

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