Overview
Immigration officers have been arresting individuals outside federal courtrooms since May, a development that has radically altered day-to-day operations in San Diego Immigration Court. Times of San Diego observed proceedings that were open to the public, along with multiple arrests in the court’s hallways, from June 17-24. This story documents scenes from those five days.
A young girl, about three years of age, held her mother’s arm while walking out of the courtroom – the mother looked fearful, the girl confused. Pointing at a group of masked men, the little one asked, “who are they?” Her mother didn’t answer.
Militarized zone — Tuesday, June 17
Approximately 10 federal officers stood in the hall all day, all wearing face masks covering everything except their eyes. Some wore vests with “Detention Officer” or “ERO” – that stands for Enforcement and Removal Operations – written on the back. Many, though, wore plain clothes and baseball caps.
For some, the only indication that they were federal employees were ICE badges hung around their necks.
Volunteers in court described the scene as a militarized zone.
Federal regulations state that at the time of an arrest, a “designated immigration officer shall, as soon as it is practical and safe to do so: (A) Identify himself or herself as an immigration officer who is authorized to execute an arrest; and (B) State that the person is under arrest and the reason for the arrest.”
ICE officers on Tuesday, in conversation with volunteers and Times of San Diego, said that they explain everything “thoroughly” once individuals are detained and would do so earlier if “it wasn’t so chaotic.”
When asked about whether immigrants know their rights when being arrested, ICE officers repeated that they should. They also have said that expedited removal is the “proper way” immigrants should be processed and that it allows for potential relief much quicker.
In the DHS statement, officials also said, “Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been.”
There is only one safeguard preceding deportation in such proceedings – passing an interview with an asylum officer. Immigration attorneys have raised concerns over an individual’s ability to understand the significance of the interview, particularly if they have no counsel and no knowledge of the U.S. legal system.
ICE officers congregate outside the courtroom where an individual they plan to arrest is in a hearing and wait for it to conclude. In the four arrests on Tuesday, whenever ICE’s target stepped outside the courtroom, seven to eight officers surrounded the person.
“There are a lot of ICE officers in the hallway,” said one volunteer. “And I don’t know what the reasoning is behind having so many.”
One attorney briefly stood in the doorframe of the courtroom after a hearing, asking for a warrant. An ICE officer pushed him to the side as he repeatedly stated that he was allowed to be there. Officers called out the immigrant’s first name – Luis – and nothing else, then handcuffed him.
Volunteers and attorneys alike have requested warrants preceding arrests. ICE officers said, as they typically do, they would show the warrant later. The document in question generally refers to an administrative warrant, which is issued by immigration officials, not judges. ICE is not authorized to enter private property under an administrative warrant.
But in public spaces, ICE doesn’t need an arrest warrant or a judicial warrant, according to Diana Laranang of the American Bar Association’s Immigration Justice Project.
They do need probable cause. In other words, ICE would have to suspect that an individual either has committed a crime or is a flight risk. In immigration court, flight risk refers to the likelihood that an individual will fail to appear.
The government’s dismissal of cases creates the pretext for the arrests that follow, according to multiple immigration attorneys.
“Where I’m seeing that the arrest is happening is because their case is dismissed and then they’re assuming that (individual) is potentially a flight-risk,” Laranang said.
