Importance Score: 75 / 100 🔴
Federal Agents Conduct Arrests at U.S. Immigration Courts
Federal authorities have been conducting arrests at U.S. immigration courts across the nation, spanning from New York to Arizona and Washington state. This operation appears to be coordinated as the administration intensifies its mass deportation efforts. These actions at immigration courts raise concerns about access to justice and due process.
Arrests Reported Across Multiple States
On Tuesday, individuals identifying themselves as federal officers detained several people outside an immigration court in Phoenix, according to reports from immigrant advocates. The detainees were taken into custody immediately after exiting the facility.
In Miami, on Wednesday, Juan Serrano, a 28-year-old immigrant from Colombia, attended a routine court check-in. After being told by a judge that he was free to leave, Serrano was apprehended by federal agents waiting outside the courtroom. He was then placed in a van with other immigrants detained that day.
Journalists, advocates, and attorneys have reported seeing agents positioned to conduct arrests at immigration courthouses in various cities this week, including Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York, Seattle, Chicago, and locations in Texas.
Concerns Over Courthouse Arrests
Apprehensions in or near immigration courts, which fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Justice, are generally uncommon. This is partly due to concerns that the fear of detention by agents might deter individuals from attending their scheduled hearings. Lindsay Toczylowski, president of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), stated, “It’s bad policy… By positioning immigration officers in the courtrooms, they’re discouraging people from following the processes, punishing people for following the rules.”
Toczylowski mentioned the presence of several agents both inside and outside a Los Angeles immigration courtroom this week, although she did not observe any arrests being made there. She emphasized the vulnerability of immigrants without legal representation, noting that they might lack the necessary understanding to present their cases effectively for asylum or other avenues to permanent residency in the United States.
Legal Aid Groups Respond
ImmDef and other legal organizations are deploying attorneys to courtrooms believed to be targeted by agents, aiming to offer basic legal education and support to individuals attending required appointments. The presence of these agents is causing widespread panic, according to Toczylowski.
“People are being detained and handcuffed in the hallway,” she said. “Can you imagine what you would be thinking, if you’re waiting there with your family and children, about to see a judge? It’s terrifying.”
Expedited Removal Policies
These actions at the courthouse occur as the administration faces numerous lawsuits and attempts to implement broad deportations, as promised during the campaign.
“All this is to accelerate detentions and expedite removals,” stated Wilfredo Allen, an immigration attorney with extensive experience representing immigrants at the Miami immigration court.
The administration has reinstated a policy from 2019 that allows for “expedited removals”—accelerated deportation proceedings for individuals who have been in the U.S. for less than two years.
Immigrants unable to confirm their presence in the U.S. for longer than two years may have their cases dismissed and face immediate expulsion from the country.
Changes to Expedited Removal Scope
- Under the previous administration, expedited removals were limited to individuals apprehended within 100 miles of the U.S. border who had been in the U.S. for less than two weeks.
Advocates Protest Actions
In Phoenix, immigrant advocates gathered outside the immigration court to protest the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Monica Sandschafer, the Arizona state director for the advocacy group Mi Familia Vota, said, “We witnessed parents and children being detained and abducted into unmarked vans immediately after attending their scheduled immigration proceedings. We demand an immediate stop to these hateful tactics.”
Three U.S. immigration officials, speaking anonymously, indicated that government attorneys were instructed to begin dismissing cases on Monday, with the understanding that federal agents would then apprehend those individuals upon their departure from the courtroom.
In Serrano’s case in Miami, the dismissal request was reportedly made by a government attorney who chose not to identify herself on the record. She declined to provide her name and quickly left the courtroom.
ICE issued a statement this week affirming its policy of detaining individuals subject to expedited removal.
Guidance for Immigrants
Attorneys and advocates are advising immigrants with upcoming hearings or court appearances to bring a trusted family member or friend who is a U.S. citizen and, ideally, a lawyer to their appointments.