Jonathan Ryan said one of his clients, mother of a child battling cancer, fears what may happen if she attends her scheduled court hearing in the coming weeks.
SAN ANTONIO — As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ramps up detainments of migrants nationwide and protests persist, immigration attorneys are continuing to prepare their clients for the uncertain future.
“Due to the fact that our organization primarily represents asylums seekers who are in deportation proceedings, there is hardly a single client who has not been directly impacted by these changes or who is currently living in fear of what might happen to them,” said Jonathan Ryan, an immigration attorney who heads the San Antonio-based nonprofit Advokato.
From Los Angeles to San Antonio, hundreds of people took part in anti-ICE demonstrations over the weekend, denouncing the tactics used by federal law enforcement to detain migrants. While the demonstrations in LA resulted in property destruction and deployment of the National Guard, the protest downtown San Antonio maintained a peaceful atmosphere.
The Trump administration has set a goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants per day, including those with criminal histories as part of his overall effort to expedite deportations.
In recent weeks, plain clothed ICE agents have detained migrants outside immigration court in San Antonio after a judge dismissed their cases. Migrants working as landscapers were also among those taken into custody.
Immigrant rights advocates and community leaders have criticized the Department of Homeland Security for the agency’s tactics which some have called “inhumane” and “unjust.”
“What’s happening right now when people are not represented, when they’re not informed, is they’re being railroaded through these processes,” Ryan said. “The very core principles of our revolution were that there were no kings in this country, that individuals have rights. And those are the principles that are under attack.”
Ryan said his clients have experienced a surge in anxiety, leading to hesitancy on how to proceed with their scheduled court hearings.
Ryan said he spoke with one mother last week who has a child battling cancer. Despite the child’s need for ongoing medical treatment in San Antonio, she fears being detained by ICE if she shows up to court.
“She doesn’t know if she’s going to get picked up when she goes to court or if ICE is even going to pick up her child,” Ryan said. “What medical, lifesaving services might he receive if he’s in detention or if he’s deported back to a country that simply cannot meet his medical needs.”
To help protect vulnerable migrants, Ryan is encouraging those in deportation proceedings to request virtual hearings, a step he hopes will reduce the risk of sudden detentions. His office has distributed a self-guided motion form that individuals can use to ask for their hearing to be conducted online.
“Does that make people completely immune to detention?” Ryan said. “Maybe yes or maybe no. There is still a requirement that people still update the court with their address and so people could be vulnerable to immigration coming to their homes or their workplaces.”