SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted operations this week inside federal immigration courts in Concord and San Francisco, according to attorneys with California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice.
ICE officers questioned several people and arrested one man on May 21 at Concord Immigration Court, according to witness Cynthia Ashley.
Ashley, who volunteers with Concord Court Accompaniment Program, said, "The incident shook me to the core. The ICE agents’ display of force and power, and their disdain for the right this man had been given to plead his case, are beyond comprehension."
Ashley said she was escorted out of the building by security after she and other volunteers reminded immigrants of their right to remain silent.
"This is the first time I’ve seen something like this happen in court," said Sergio Jaime Lopez with the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance. "It’s deeply concerning to witness the government use scare tactics in a space where people are supposed to seek protection. At the end of the day, one person didn’t make it back home to his family. This country was built on the foundation of rights and due process. On days like this, it feels like those rights don’t exist for everyone."
Homeland Security officials are ramping up enforcement actions in what appears to be a coordinated dragnet testing out new legal levers deployed by President Donald Trump’s administration to carry out mass arrests. Trump campaigned on a pledge of mass removals of what he calls "illegals."
A senior spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told KRON4 on Friday, "Secretary Noem is reversing Biden’s catch and release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets. This Administration is once again implementing the rule of law. Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge."
In response to KRON4's questions about ICE operations in the Bay Area this week, the DHS spokesperson said, "ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been. If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation."
(Photo by Christopher Dilts/ Bloomberg via Getty Images)Immigration courts are run by the U.S. Justice Department. During this week's operations in San Francisco and Concord, ICE officers asked people for their names and identification, advocates said.
Immigration court hearings usually last less than five minutes and end with a judge ordering those who appeared to return in two years to plead their case against deportation. Rather than set a future court date, government attorneys can ask judges to drop the case. If an immigration judge dismisses a migrant's case, that can expose them to an ICE arrest just moments later as they step out of the courtroom, attorneys explained.
Milli Atkinson, director of the Immigrant Legal Defense Program of the Justice & Diversity Center of the Bar Association of San Francisco, said immigrants have a right to due process.
ICE San Francisco involved in Tahoe operation targeting alleged gang membersAtkinson said, "In just a few days, we have seen a chilling effect in court, where those who are complying with very complicated legal requirements could be denied their opportunity to present their case and are being threatened with prolonged detention."
Bay Area immigration rights groups are encouraging "power, not panic." Organizations recommend that migrants seek legal advice prior to attending their court hearings, and they should be aware that missing a court hearing could result in a deportation order.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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