ICE agents arrest green card applicants in San Diego

The father of an autistic teenager. The wife of a Navy veteran. The mother of a 6-month-old. These are just a few of the people Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested at green card appointments in San Diego this month, according to immigration lawyers in San Diego.

Immigration lawyers are calling this a new escalation of the current Trump administration’s practice of targeting different groups of immigrants who — under previous administrations — were not prioritized for enforcement.

Other examples include revoking student visas of international students protesting what they describe as a genocide in Gaza, and arresting people at their immigration court hearings.

Arresting people during green card appointments — which is the last step before becoming a permanent resident — is particularly disturbing because this group of people have already gone through extensive background checks, lawyers say. They have no violent criminal history.

“What is the point of doing this,” said Los Angeles-based lawyer William Menard. “It’s so unnecessary.”

ICE agents arrested Menard’s client — the Australian wife of a U.S. Navy veteran — during her green card appointment at the local Citizenship and Immigration Services office in downtown San Diego last week.

“She’s never been detained before, it’s extremely traumatizing,” he said. “Obviously, her husband is really worried about her.”

She doesn’t have a criminal history in the United States or any other country, Menard added.

Lawyers say ICE’s stated reason for most of these arrests is the green card applicants overstayed their visas.

However, it is relatively common for applicants to overstay their visas because the green card application process takes so long. Normally, the government tells people not to bother renewing visas near the tail end of the application process.

Additionally, immigration lawyers point out that immediate relatives (spouses, parents and children) of U.S. citizens can legally adjust their status even if they overstayed a visa.

The form required to help an immediate relative receive a green card (Form I-130) is the same form that First Lady Melania Trump used to sponsor her parents during the first Trump term.

In a statement, ICE ignored criticisms about the necessity of these green card arrests while saying the agency is committed to enforcing immigration law.

ICE is transferring people arrested at green card appointments to the Otay Mesa Detention Center — a privately-owned facility where it costs taxpayers approximately $200 per day to keep someone detained, according to a 2024 budget overview.

Immigration lawyers said many of them will spend the Thanksgiving holiday away from their families.

Immigration lawyer Tessa Cabrera’s client was arrested during his green card appointment on Nov. 12. He won’t get a bond hearing until Dec. 5.

His detention is particularly heartbreaking, Cabrera said, because her client is the primary caretaker of a teenager with special needs. It’s something she tried to argue with ICE agents during the arrest.

“He has U.S. citizen children, specifically a 17-year-old who has autism and really depends on him physically, mentally, emotionally,” she said. “And they just didn’t care. They just took him.”

ICE responded to KPBS questions with a statement similar to statements it has made to justify other immigration actions that have gone beyond the norms of previous administrations.

“(ICE) is committed to enforcing federal immigration laws through targeted operations that prioritize national security, public safety and border security,” the statement said.

Cabrera pushed back against this narrative, alluding to the fact that roughly 80% of people detained at Otay Mesa do not have criminal convictions.

“What risk did the community face from my client who lives a quiet life, is the caregiver to his 17-year-old son, works, pays taxes, has no criminal history and was applying for a green card, she said.”