Dem
47
GOP
53
The arrest of New York Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander made headlines last Tuesday, as Donald Trump's ICE makes attacks on more public officials. But even more importantly, it has shone a light on a reprehensible practice coordinated between the ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations to cancel INA (Immigration and Nationality Act) proceedings in order to snatch up unsuspecting noncitizens appearing in court.
The individuals being targeted are people who entered the United States the "right" way. They presented themselves to border patrol officers at a port of entry, filled out the form requesting asylum, and were allowed into the country to await a hearing to determine whether they can remain in the U.S. Most often they are seeking asylum to escape persecution in their home country. They are given a Notice to Appear with the date and location of the hearing before an immigration judge. When they arrive for their hearing, however, they find that ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor has moved to dismiss their case, which seemingly means that they are free to go and remain in the country. But, in fact, it's a trick. Dismissal of the regular proceeding means that ICE can now put that person in expedited removal (ER), which is a fast-track to deportation. (Although the expansion of ER is also legally dubious.) Unless the person knows to oppose the motion to dismiss or appeal the dismissal if it's granted, they can be detained pending the ER process. And unless they know how to navigate the ER process by requesting what's called a "credible fear interview," they will find themselves quickly deported, as ER affords few rights to noncitizens.
In other words, ICE is now showing up to immigration court to lie in wait for people whose cases the government is dismissing for the sole purpose of eliminating their rights, so ICE can immediately pick them up. Again, these are folks who followed all the rules and who Trump and his MAGA acolytes promised they weren't targeting. But it's all about the numbers. Trump has ordered ICE to make 3,000 arrests/day. ICE officers have quotas and don't care who they are arresting and often don't know who they are arresting, as they've already swept up a number of U.S. citizens. Morale at ICE and CBP is at an all-time low and the agencies are having difficulty filling vacant positions—go figure.
This new bait-and-switch tactic was engineered by Benjamin Huffman, who was acting DHS secretary at the time. His memo guides this new behavior and is being challenged in court by several nonprofit organizations. "Our nation has watched in horror as immigrants—all of whom are doing exactly what the government has asked of them—are being placed in a legal Catch-22 where they must appear in court, but when they do, ICE is waiting outside the door. This is morally reprehensible and, for our clients' members, unlawful," said Hillary Li, counsel for Justice Action Center, which represents the nonprofits. "We filed an amended complaint and motion today to ensure that the court has a full understanding of the urgency of the situation at hand."
This behavior will only serve to drive people who had been following the law underground and will force them to fail to appear. This will further destabilize an already-broken system. Further, polls show that these tactics are very unpopular with the American public, including people who voted for Trump. Once again, he chooses a chainsaw when a scalpel would be much more effective.
There is some good news on this front, however. It turns out there is a work-around. A group of students out of USC, working with the Agents of Change Civil Rights Advocacy Initiative, have set up a hotline to help people fill out requests to move their immigration hearing online. The hotline has been live for about a week and they've already received thousands of calls. The volunteers staffing the hotline, who provide services in English and Spanish, are doing their best to keep up with the demand. These requests are routinely granted thus saving the immigrants a trip to the courthouse and possibly detention by ICE. (L)