For the first time since early October, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested and detained an asylum-seeker on Thursday morning following a court hearing in San Francisco immigration court.
The arrest occurred at roughly 10:55 a.m. at 630 Sansome St., according to multiple people close to the immigration court, in the hallway outside Judge Patrick O’Brien’s fourth-floor courtroom.
After a majority of the cases in the morning’s docket had finished and the courtroom had emptied out, a woman who appeared to be in her early 30s arrived late for her 10:30 a.m. hearing, the sources said.
She had flown into San Francisco from Texas to attend her hearing, they said, and, like the others, had tried to hire an attorney. But, she told Judge O’Brien, she had fallen victim to a scam impersonating a legal service and appeared in court without counsel.
The Department of Homeland Security attorney then moved to dismiss her case, sources said, following a pattern whereby federal attorneys seek dismissals in order to expedite deportations.
O’Brien agreed to the motion and, when the woman exited the courtroom, ICE officers were waiting in the hallway. The agents handcuffed her and led her down the hallway out of sight.
Other details about her case were not immediately available.
The arrest came after several weeks of quiet at the city’s courthouse, a sharp contrast to the summer and early fall when ICE agents targeted immigrants immediately after their court hearings and check-ins.
Starting in late May, asylum-seekers and others who showed up to plead their case in front of a judge or meet with an immigration agent were arrested in the hallways at either 630 Sansome St. or the city’s other immigration court at 100 Montgomery.
ICE has arrested at least 120 immigrants at either courthouse since May. But, between Oct. 3 and Nov. 6, no arrests following immigration court hearings, though there were two arrests of immigrants unrelated to hearings, attorneys said.
It is unclear why arrests have declined, but attorneys say it is related to the success of using habeas corpus petitions to immediately win the release of those arrested by ICE.
Earlier on Thursday, at 8:30 a.m., there was little sign of the impending arrest. The courtroom carried a light air. A baby, about 10 months old and dressed in fuzzy pink pajamas, crawled across the floor during Judge O’Brien’s hearings.
The 15 or so seated in the benches waved and made silly faces at the baby, despite the nature of the cases unfolding at the judge’s bench.
Those in attendance had all received a “notice to appear,” which places immigration cases into expedited removal proceedings and signals a potential deportation.
O’Brien had about 35 cases scheduled for the 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. hearings, but only three families and two individuals appeared, a pattern in recent weeks as immigrants avoid the courtroom.
All but one of those in attendance sought asylum, and none appeared with an attorney.
O’Brien urged each family to find legal representation before their final hearings. He reminded all that outcomes without counsel can be bleak.
One Colombian mother appeared with her 16-year-old son and told the judge that she had hired an attorney, but none appeared beside her.
Outside the courtroom, she waved her hands in worry as she told Mission Local what had happened.
She had paid $300 cash for an attorney to start her asylum process, she said, and after shuffling through a thick stack of documents, pulled out a page seeming to show an agreement. But the document did not have the attorney’s signature, and it is unclear if the woman had engaged counsel.
Inside the courtroom, O’Brien continued reviewing the morning’s cases and set final hearings, all of which were scheduled for years out into the future. He noted that the dates were subject to change, however, and that all those with cases should find an attorney quickly and plan accordingly.
I can’t imagine how it’s legal to have a legal hearing without counsel of ANY KIND present despite evidence of seeking that and having not waived the right.
They should be given an attorney (or a roster of options) and a brief continuance, another chance to actually plead their case in a legally appropriate filing rather than a “one shot, no lawyer, done forever” kind of kangaroo kidnapping operation. This is not how we treat our worst criminals, if you think about it.
Adios!
Unfortunately the scams have been very heavy of people pretending to provide legal counsel and just stealing money. Even worse, the non profit I used to work for is so mismanaged by the CEO we would lose attorneys right and left and the clients would show up without any counsel even though we were on record to represent them. I was with one of the biggest none profits in sf who has screwed over sooooo many of its clients, and under state, local, and federal funding and they certainly kept that money even though they failed to render services. Most of the clients were lucky that the judge rescheduled them. Not lucky this was heavily happening before trump days so now those clients have to go back in during this new, highly
Unfavorable to their legal outcome, regime. Hopefully they will have an attorney by their side this time because going into those courts without representation is near impossible to get a good outcome.
Blow the whistle. Not just here, but like, for real.