SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are detaining undocumented migrants at courthouses across the country. Advocates say they're being taken to undisclosed locations.
"It was 10-15 officers just grabbing people," said Ruth Mendez with Detention Resistance.
Mendez tells me similar detentions are now happening at San Diego's federal courthouse.
"There are no words to describe the frustration that you feel when you know someone is being taken and there's nothing you can do. The whole courtroom of individuals waiting for their hearings started to worry," Mendez said.
Mendez says around 10 undocumented migrants were detained by ICE officers on Thursday. All of them were in the middle of court proceedings to remain in the U.S.
"You get detained if you come to the court, or you get detained if you don't come. They're being put in a difficult situation," Mendez said.
I spoke to one immigration attorney whose client came to the U.S. from Honduras.
"ICE arrested him as soon as we walked out of the courtroom and they're moving forward with an immediate removal order against him to get him out of the country," said attorney Saman Nasseri.
The attorney says his client's case for sponsorship was dismissed by the judge, which allowed ICE officers to immediately detain and potentially deport him in what's called an "expedited removal."
"We know this is going to be an ongoing thing to get rid of people who are here in the country, fighting their case, showing up to court," Nasseri said.
The Department of Homeland Security sent a statement which reads in part: "Most people who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals… If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation."
