SEATTLE — After a Seattle immigration judge dismissed a Colombian man’s deportation case, subjecting him to expedited removal, three people sat with him in the back of the courtroom, taking his car keys for safekeeping, assisting him in memorising phone numbers, and gathering the names of family members who needed to be notified.
When Judge Brett Parchert enquired why they were doing that in court, the volunteers explained that Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities were waiting outside the door to take the man into custody, so this was their only chance to help him get his belongings in order. “ICE is in the waiting room?” the judge enquired.
As President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive focusses on Democratic-led cities and states, instilling terror among asylum seekers and immigrants, their legal defenders filed a lawsuit this week seeking class-action protections against arrests outside immigration court sessions. Meanwhile, these volunteers are taking action.
Faith leaders, college students, grandparents, retired lawyers, and professors have begun showing up at immigration courts across the country to accompany immigrants facing deportation by masked ICE personnel. They are providing emotional and logistical support to families while also witnessing the removal of individuals.
The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project received so many requests for assistance that they created a volunteer training video, “Know Your Rights” sheets in several languages, and a Google sheet where people could sign up for shifts, according to Stephanie Gai, a staff attorney at the Seattle-based legal services non-profit.
“We could not have done it without them,” Gai added. “Some volunteers request time off work so they can come in and help.”
Robby Rohr, a retired non-profit director, said she volunteers frequently.
“Being here makes individuals feel remembered and recognised,” she explained. “It’s a very bureaucratic and complex process. We strive to help them get through it.
Recording videos of detentions and posting them online
Volunteers and legal aid organisations have historically offered free legal orientation in immigration court, but the arrests have added additional problems. Since May, the administration has urged judges to drop deportation cases.
Once the court agrees, ICE officers arrest them in the corridors and place them in expedited deportation proceedings, regardless of the legitimate immigration procedure they were following. Once in detention, it might be difficult to find or afford a counsel. Immigration judges are executive branch personnel, and while some have refused to follow Homeland Security lawyers’ dismissal orders in rare cases, the majority are granted.
Masked ICE agents apprehended the Colombian man and led him down the hallway. As he was being carried away, a volunteer took his rucksack and gave it to his family. Other cases on the day’s docket included immigrants who failed to appear. Parchert gave “removal in absentia” orders, which allowed ICE to apprehend them later.
When asked about the arrests and the immigration court volunteers, a senior spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated that ICE is once again enforcing the rule of law by reversing “Biden’s catch and release policy, which allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets.”
Some volunteers have recorded arrests in courtroom halls, resulting in distressing scenes that are widely shared online. It is unclear how many comparable scenes are taking place around the nation. The Executive Office for Immigration Review has not disclosed the number of cases rejected or arrests made in or near immigration courts.
While most volunteers have completed this service without incident, a few have been arrested for interfering with ICE authorities. Brad Lander, the New York City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate, was arrested after locking arms with someone in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid custody. Lander’s wife, attorney Meg Barnette, had just joined him in leading migrants from a courtroom to a lift.
