SAN DIEGO — Today, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers ambushed, arrested, and denied community members their right to due process in the hallway of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building immediately after their immigration hearings. As ICE arrests outside courthouses grip the country, members of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC) witnessed these actions and arrests targeting individuals locally who showed up in good faith to comply with court requirements turning the courtrooms into traps. ICE agents attempted to arrest community members without warrants, even when their attorneys were present and could prove that ICE did not have warrants to detain them.
Some of the individuals arrested had their cases dismissed by an immigration judge. ICE officers arrested them before they would have been able to file their asylum case with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), denying them the opportunity to pursue their asylum cases. Instead of allowing individuals to go through the asylum process with USCIS, ICE is now seeking to use expedited removal, a fast-tracked process that allows them to deport individuals who have been in the country for less than two years without going before a judge, to deport them.
“We condemn the lack of due process. The right to seek asylum is a human right, and that must be respected and upheld,” said Ian Seruelo, Chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC) and chapter leader of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) San Diego. “This enforcement tactic creates a chilling effect on non-citizens who are exercising their right to defend themselves and their families in immigration court. This will discourage those in removal proceedings from showing up in court because of fear of being apprehended and detained.”
SDIRC members watched as several individuals were nearly collateral damage when ICE attempted to arrest them without checking to see if there was a warrant first. When attorneys pushed back against the arrests, the ICE agents discovered they had the wrong individuals.
“What’s happening in immigration courtrooms today is a disgraceful display of tyranny. Asylum seekers – people who have fled persecution and are complying with the legal process – are being arbitrarily and maliciously arrested. This is not about justice or safety. This is about sending a message: that the U.S. government intends to make people’s lives so unbearable that they lose hope,” said Crystal Felix, Legal Representative for the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC) and American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) San Diego Chapter member. “These actions are a deliberate attempt to crush the human spirit and undermine the very principle that our asylum laws are meant to uphold. It’s also a staggering waste of court resources – cases are scheduled, prepared, and then gutted at the last minute, showing blatant disregard for due process and efficiency.”
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About the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium:
The San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium is a project of Alliance San Diego. Since 2007, community, faith, labor, and legal organizations have come together as the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium (SDIRC). Through SDIRC, these organizations are pursuing four common goals: support comprehensive immigration reform; stop the spread of local policies and practices that target and violate the civil and human rights of immigrants; educate immigrants, and educate the public about the important contributions of immigrants. immigrantsandiego.org
