A Cuban family seeking asylum for three years is in expedited deportation after getting arrested outside of court.
SAN ANTONIO — A Cuban family seeking asylum in the United States for the last three years has been detained for “Expedited Deportation Proceedings” after they appeared in court as part of their asylum case.
The family reported to court at the federal immigration court building on Dolorosa in downtown San Antonio Wednesday morning. Their lawyer says their case was quickly dismissed and the family was taken into custody by ICE officers waiting outside the courtroom.
This comes after several days of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arresting more than a dozen individuals the last two weeks as they left immigration court downtown following their cases being dismissed.
“They placed them in Expedited Removal Proceedings, which do not necessarily provide the opportunity to explain their case in front of a judge,” Amanda Aguilar with the Law Offices of Garcia and Rodriguez said.
Aguilar said they went through the legal process in order to request asylum through the courts.
“They have been here approximately three years as a family. They entered seeking asylum, seeking protections from the United States,” Aguilar said.
She said their future is uncertain from here.
“ICE is going to take them to a processing center here in San Antonio. There, they will make the decision whether they want to process them and maybe release them on an ankle monitor. Or they will transfer them to the family detention center, likely the one that is a little bit south of San Antonio,” Amanda Aguilar said.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement released the following statement in response to the courthouse arrests:
“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. 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.”