Three members of Congress sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Thursday with several questions and “deep concern” over ICE arrests during green card interviews in San Diego.
Reps. Sara Jacobs, Juan Vargas and Mike Levin, all Democrats, wrote in the letter that immigration attorneys and family members reported ICE agents detaining people at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office.
The arrests began November 12, multiple lawyers and families told NBC 7. In at least six cases detailed to NBC 7, the person detained was the spouse, parent or child of a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, taken into custody near the end of their final interview for legal permanent residency.
That includes a woman from the U.K. arrested as she held her 6-month-old son, an 18-year-old from Mexico attending the interview with his parents, a father of two U.S. citizen children in the U.S. since 2002, a 22-year-old woman from Syria, and a woman from Australia who’s married to a military veteran.
All said the person arrested did overstay their visa but they were counseled that it was not an issue that would result in detention. At least 10 immigration attorneys separately told NBC 7 that visa overstays during the green card process have for decades traditionally been forgiven under immigration law. Many said they had clients in similar or worse situations approved without a problem just the week before this new wave of arrests – and their clients who were detained are still eligible for those green cards.
“All of our offices continue to receive calls daily from constituents that have either been detained themselves or have a loved one that has been detained,” the letter reads. “Notably, we know that detaining individuals seeking legal immigration pathways increases fear and distrust in our government resulting in a higher likelihood of people skipping immigration interviews and avoiding other legal pathways.”
When asked about this tactic and those specific cases on multiple occasions, ICE has twice sent a statement saying in part, “Individuals unlawfully present in the United States, including those out of status at federal sites such as USCIS offices, may face arrest, detention, and removal in accordance with U.S. immigration law.
The members of Congress wrote that it had come to their attention that the attorneys for some of those arrested were not “being given accurate information on why their clients are being detained and where they are being taken.”
“We should not have to remind you that everyone living in this country is guaranteed certain basic rights, including the right to legal counsel,” the letter reads. “ICE should follow the law and allow legal counsel access to this extremely important legal information.”
Some of the families told NBC 7 it was difficult to find out any information. Three said their loved ones were taken to the basement of the federal building and transferred back and forth between there and the Otay Mesa Detention Center.
The letter asks Noem for answers to several specific questions: how many people have been arrested in this manner, if any minors have been taken into custody, where detainees are being held, if they’ve been allowed to contact family and attorneys, as well as why these operations began and who ordered them, among others.
“It’s a waste of our government’s time, money, and resources to detain and arrest people who are doing their best to navigate our immigration system the right way – instead of going after the hardened criminals they’re supposedly targeting,” Jacobs said in a statement to NBC 7. “Secretary Noem needs to answer questions about what’s happening and why, and to guarantee that everyone is being treated humanely and being afforded their legal rights.”
The members of Congress wrote that they believed the operations “are being carried out to meet arbitrary arrest quotas instead of focusing on important national security investigations,” adding a request for a briefing from USCIS and ICE on the matter.
“You have claimed that the Department of Homeland Security is committed to apprehending violent criminals, when in reality these operations target hardworking and law abiding members of our community, who are trying to follow the law,” the letter says.
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