"In all eight cases, the Department of Homeland Security attorney and immigration judge followed a now-common routine: The federal attorney submitted a "motion to dismiss" the asylum seekers' cases, a way to fast-track deportations. The judge, neither granting nor denying the motion, gave each asylum seeker 10 days to respond. But Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents waiting in the hallways arrested them all regardless."
"In one case, a young man and woman aged 26 and 27, respectively, held hands on a bench in the back of the courtroom dressed in matching black hoodies and dark jeans. They were called to the stand by Judge Joseph Park, who presided over the courtroom via Webex. The DHS attorney spoke aloud in a thick Hispanic accent, signaling a "motion to dismiss" the couple's case, and did the same for six individuals who followed."
"The couple met an attorney of the day and a legal caseworker at the back of the courtroom who gathered their emergency contact information and explained to them that they would likely be detained in the hallway outside. The pair had a friend waiting for them outside of the court building, the man said, handing his car keys and a credit card to the caseworker. His wife cried silently beside him."
Eight people from Colombia were arrested at immigration court hearings in downtown San Francisco, marking the highest number of arrests recorded in a single morning at that court. In each case, a Department of Homeland Security attorney submitted a motion to dismiss asylum cases as a method to fast-track deportations. Judges neither granted nor denied the motions and gave each asylum seeker 10 days to respond. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested all eight in the courthouse hallways. Several detainees met an attorney of the day and a legal caseworker before arrest. Family members and friends waited outside as some were led away.
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