SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — President Donald Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night, where immigration is expected to be a central topic. The speech comes after a year of sweeping changes to the U.S. immigration system, which saw increased enforcement and even arrests of people in the process of obtaining legal status.
Jacob Sapochnick has been practicing immigration law for more than 20 years. He's a San Diego-based attorney, serving clients all over the world, and says he has never experienced a year like this one.
"It's almost like you're trying to work against a system that doesn't have consistency, every day there's something new," Sapochnick said.
Trump moved quickly during the first year of his second term, following through on campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration. His administration deployed troops to the border and ramped up arrests and deportations.
"So I think it started with a lot more presence in the street enforcement where they come to employers, and they're checking, which they used to do before," Sapochnick said.
Sapochnick said the biggest surprise over the past year was the detention of people who were in the process of gaining legal status, including detentions during routine check-ins with ICE and at green card interview appointments. I reported on this over the last year, including cases involving Sapochnick's clients who were detained in both scenarios, among them, the spouse of a Navy service member.
"So the courts became a trap for immigrants, which we've never seen before; immigration offices became a trap," Sapochnick said.
As for what comes next, Sapochnick said it is difficult to predict. He plans to watch Tuesday night's address and hopes the president speaks directly to those who are working through their immigration cases legally.
"What is he going to say to those people who are trying to do it the right way and trying to legalize themselves," Sapochnick said.
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