Caught in a trap: Asylum seekers arrested after visiting US courts
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Intensifies as Homeland Security Agents Target Migrants
Since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, agents from Homeland Security are increasingly loitering outside immigration courts, arresting migrants as they exit after mandatory asylum hearings.
New Tactics Amplify the One‑Million Deportation Goal
Trump campaigned on a promise to deport a vast number of migrants and has urged federal authorities to adopt a more aggressive strategy. His objective is to achieve one million deportations annually.
Arrests Occur Nationwide After Court Hearings
Missing an immigration court hearing can itself be a crime and can heighten a migrant’s risk of deportation. Consequently, many individuals have no choice but to attend hearings, where agents are ready to arrest them.
Agents Target a Diverse Group at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building
Agents from several federal agencies equipped with shields surveyed the courtroom on the 12th floor of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in central New York. AFP witnesses observed the agents holding photographs and paperwork that identified targeted migrants.
- Almost a dozen migrants from various countries were arrested within a few hours.
Brad Lander decries the Hearings as “A Trap”
Brad Lander, a city official who was briefly detained last month by ICE agents while attempting to accompany a migrant slated for removal, characterized the hearings as a “trap.”
“It has the trappings of a judicial hearing, but it’s just a trap to have made them come in the first place,” Lander said.
Agents Capture a Paraguayan Asylum Seeker
Lander recounted the arrest of Carlos, a Paraguayan man who had a pending asylum application under the Convention Against Torture. The judge had instructed him to prepare additional information about his interactions with Paraguayan police to support his case.
After Carlos’s hearing, agents “without any identifying information or badges or warrants grabbed Carlos and quickly moved him toward the back stairwell,” Lander claimed. He also alleged that agents threatened and pushed Carlos’s sister to the ground.
White House Defends ICE Agents
The White House recently criticized Democrats and called ICE agents “under siege by deranged Democrats.” It affirmed that ICE agents are “undeterred in their mission” and praised them as brave men and women who “put their own lives on the line to get the worst of the worst out of our streets and neighborhoods.”
Lander Observes Erosion of the Rule of Law
At the lower Manhattan building, Lander said that anyone who observes the courthouse “could see… the rule of law is being eroded.”
