RUSH: A New York Times op-ed last weekend criticized Trump’s immigration agents for arresting illegal immigrants at courthouses, and apparently this is  going to continue.

In New York alone, the number has increased by – get this – 900 percent, these arrests, since Trump was inaugurated. So lawyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington are complaining that the “tradition” of giving illegal immigrants a free pass at the courthouse has ended.

Liberals are beside themselves. They say detaining illegal immigrants while at court undercuts our democracy. They say it threatens “the very operation of our judicial system.” They say that arresting illegal immigrants at court means fewer will show up.

But President Trump, the DOJ, and ICE show no signs of changing the policy. So activists are demanding “pushback.” They want state and local officials to intervene.

It never occurs to these liberals that they are directly responsible for what’s happening. Liberals are the ones who gave illegal immigrants the idea they could violate American law without consequence. The last eight years, that’s exactly what happened.

But this is what it looks like when an administration actually follows the law instead of aiding and abetting those who break it. It may not be pretty, but it’s long overdue.