According to reports, federal agents arrested dozens of immigrants nationwide while they were attending routine immigration check-ins or court appointments.
Under President Donald Trump’s new administration, and in accordance with his aggressive mass deportation plan, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers or agents may conduct enforcement activity in and around courthouses, as long as it does not violate any state laws.
Local news outlets in Tennessee, Florida, New York, Minnesota, and elsewhere have reported on multiple unwitting people being arrested – some potentially for deportation – while arriving for a scheduled appointment.
A group of people in Delray Beach, Florida, were reportedly “tricked” into seeing an immigration officer at a local supervision office at the end of January, only to be detained and taken away by immigration law enforcement, a family member told NBC Miami.
Garrett Ripa, the acting assistant director for field operations, denied the claim that the individuals were “lured.”
According to the Nashville Banner, at least three people with no criminal records have been detained in Nashville for “routine check-ins” since Trump took office.
According to the Times Union, one New York judge acknowledged at a public hearing last week that ICE officers have been conducting deportation arrests in the hallways or outside of courthouses.
A spokesperson for ICE stated, “Once an alien is subject to a final order of removal issued by an immigration judge or other lawful means, ICE officers must carry out the removal.”
“Aliens placed into removal proceedings receive their legal due process from federal immigration judges in the immigration courts, which are administered by the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review,” according to a spokesperson.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which is separate from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, is where immigration judges decide whether an immigrant is subject to a final order or is eligible for certain types of relief, according to the spokesperson.
The recent string of arrests may instill fear in some immigrants who have upcoming check-ins or appointments, particularly after the Trump administration issued a memorandum allowing enforcement officers to expedite deportations for anyone with a removal order, regardless of any pending proceedings.
However, failure to appear for a routine appointment may result in deportation.
Being an undocumented immigrant is not a crime; it is a civil offense. However, it is a crime to illegally re-enter the United States if the individual has already been deported.
People who enter the United States must report to ICE officers for check-ins if they were detained by ICE upon arrival or have an existing order of removal. Some individuals must attend check-ins even while appealing a deportation order.
One mother was deported in January after going to see her immigration officer for a check-in, unaware that she had lost her appeal in her case. According to NBC News, she only learned about the order while attending her scheduled appointment with her young daughter.
Despite the Trump administration’s emphasis on deporting those with criminal records first, Ripa told NBC Miami that “every” removable individual “is potentially an individual that we could take an enforcement action against.”
