The lawyer Ismael Labrador, from Gallardo Law Firm, has described the strategy being used by ICE as a “great violation of many rights” to arrest migrants as they leave their court hearings.
Labrador has advised those affected to seek legal counsel to explore their options, although he acknowledged that even with the lawyer present, it will be difficult to avoid detention because ICE agents arrive with an arrest warrant.
"We have had quite a hectic week regarding immigration, just like in the past couple of months. Every day brings news that is definitely creating very sad situations for the immigrant community in the U.S., especially for the Latino community, which is the largest group we have here in South Florida: Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans..." commented Labrador at the beginning of a live broadcast through Mario J. Pentón's networks, where he expressed his deep concern.
The lawyer described what is happening as a “very sad moment filled with uncertainty.”
“It is a danger what is happening; they are dismissing the cases. Fifteen or twenty days ago, having an I-220A dismissed and having the court removed was a joy and opened the way to the Cuban Adjustment Act.”, she added, implying that confusion also reigns among the immigration attorneys themselves.
The lawyer specified that there are several migrants with I-220A who have been in the U.S. for two or three years and who have been detained in Miami immigration court between Wednesday and Thursday, some of whom are Cuban.
What has been the modus operandi?
The DHS moved to dismiss the deportation cases, the judges agreed, the cases were dismissed, and once the cases were dismissed, ICE agents detained the migrants as they left the court.
"There are many alternatives for you to succeed in this new wave of persecution that exists," commented the lawyer, while also noting that we must wait to see how the government initially proceeds with those migrants it has detained.
"We know that this is definitely a terrible violation of rights, of due process, and of the rights to have a hearing, to appear in court, and to represent oneself," he concluded.
Antonio Ramos, an immigration attorney with an office in the same building as the court where some arrests took place, advised migrants with active cases to request virtual hearings.
However, in recent hours, other lawyers have warned that if ICE plans to detain a migrant, the request for a virtual hearing will likely be denied.
Several Cubans detained
Several Cuban citizens were detained on Wednesday by ICE agents after appearing for routine hearings at the immigration court in downtown Miami, where they were hoping to move forward in their legal proceedings.
The arrests, carried out by plainclothes officers, took place in the hallways of the court immediately after the judges dismissed their cases, in an operation that also resulted in the capture of at least two other individuals, one of whom is Colombian.
Reporters from the Miami Herald witnessed how the agents positioned themselves inside the building for hours, waiting for the hearings to conclude before taking action.
One of the men arrested was a Cuban who had appeared before Judge Rico Sogocio.
During his hearing, the judge informed him that he needed to request a parole document as part of his process toward legal residency, based on the Cuban Adjustment Act, which allows for residency applications after one year and one day in the country.
The man explained that he had already started the process, but that he only had a form I-220A, a document that is usually issued when crossing the border and is not valid for applying for a "green card" under that law.
Upon leaving the room with his wife and daughter, he was approached by several ICE agents who informed him that he would be detained.
His wife and daughter, who requested to remain unidentified, assured the aforementioned media outlet that the man needed medication for his diabetes and was still in the midst of his immigration process.
“He is not illegal. I want to understand”, her daughter said, visibly distressed. An officer promised to call her before the end of the day to provide information, while another indicated that the detainee would be processed at the ICE offices in Miramar.
Moments later, another Cuban man who entered through the border with Mexico in 2021 was also handcuffed. The judge closed his case at the government's request, which ended his pending asylum application.
During the hearing, the judge suggested that he hire a lawyer and indicated that his case could be transferred to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). However, shortly after, ICE arrested him.
A broader strategy: Arrests nationwide
These incidents are not isolated. These arrests in Miami are part of a series of similar operations carried out in immigration courts in other cities such as New York, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
Although arrests in courts are not new, they traditionally focused on individuals with criminal records.
This new wave marks a concerning turn: people with ongoing legal proceedings and no criminal record are being detained.
In all the cases from that Wednesday in Miami, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) requested immigration judges to dismiss the deportation cases.
This allowed the arrested individuals to be immediately subject to expedited deportations, a process that does not require the intervention of a judge.
“All of this is to expedite arrests and streamline deportations”, said immigration attorney Wilfredo Allen in statements quoted by Local 10, who has represented migrants in Miami court for decades.
A new directive: Deportations without a hearing
The root of this new practice lies in a memorandum issued in January by the DHS, which instructs agents to consider expedited deportations for individuals with less than two years in the country.
"Take all necessary measures to review the case of the foreign national and consider, when exercising their discretion, whether to apply expedited deportation. This may include the termination of pending processes," states the document.
This measure, combined with a recent decision by the agency that oversees immigration appeals, allows for the mandatory detention of newcomers, including those who entered under humanitarian programs such as humanitarian parole.
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