Chaos, anxiety in San Diego Immigration Court

Immigration raids have taken place throughout the country since Donald Trump began his second term as president.

Federal officers wait outside restaurants, farms, parks – wherever they think immigrants might be working or living – and make arrests. There’s another place where ICE has lain in wait for immigrants – in court. San Diego Immigration Court is a prime example.

Arrests outside courtrooms began in May. After witnessing one such detention – of a man from Afghanistan who once aided the U.S. military, then sought asylum – our reporter, Swasti Singhai, decided to spend a few days in the court’s hallways, to observe how migrants, lawyers and federal officers mix.

Uneasily, as it turns out. We asked Swasti what she learned after finishing her special report:

I think my biggest takeaway was that immigration enforcement in the courtroom is systematic and calculated. (It is) designed to dissuade people from going through the legal process, and then those same people are villainized when they succumb to the fear of systems that were never really built for them.

It’s just people – neighbors, friends, workers – that pay the price for policy. Ultimately, there are human beings and real people to all sides of the equation – whether that be ICE officers, volunteers, lawyers, immigrants – which I didn’t fully comprehend when I was just reading about the statistics and breaking news headlines. Watching cases particularly makes you really realize how personal this journey is for each person. 

Please take some time today for “Five Days, 12 Arrests” for our look at immigration court in the Trump era.

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