ICE traps immigrants at green card interviews

"In San Diego, ICE recently arrested an undocumented immigrant at a U.S. Customs and Immigration Service interview after he applied for a green card, immigration lawyer Jan Bejar told Axios. The client married a U.S. citizen, but had overstayed a tourist visa after entering the country with his parents at the age of 12. USCIS approved the green card petition on the same day as ICE made the arrest. "This whole thing could have been avoided because as the officer said, 'Your case is perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with it,' Bejar said.""

"In Cleveland, Courtney Koski's client was arrested in late November at an interview while also applying for legal status through marriage. The client had been in the country for 25 years, and was brought to the country as a child. But she was living with a removal order after her parents missed their court hearing. Though her petition was also approved, she remains in ICE custody. Her husband's "very distraught. He's suffering without his wife during the holidays," Koski said. "He was trying everything he could to help her legalize her status here and now she's being punished for trying to do the right thing.""

"Zoom out: The local chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association has been tracking arrests similar to what happened to Bejar's client, pegging the number at several dozen, according to the New York Times. But ICE and USCIS have not officially shared how many people nationally are being arrested at their hearings. "It's not like a blanket you shouldn't ever arrest anybody," said Michael Knowles, a retired asylum officer who is president of AFGE Local 1924, representing USCIS employees around Washington."

ICE has arrested undocumented immigrants at USCIS interviews, including applicants pursuing green cards. One detained applicant had a petition approved the same day as the arrest. Another longtime resident applying through marriage was arrested despite an approved petition and remains in ICE custody, separating her from family. Some arrestees can obtain bond or may seek release through habeas corpus petitions; otherwise detainees must pursue immigration applications from detention. Local AILA chapters report several dozen similar arrests, while ICE and USCIS have not released national figures.

Read at Axios