Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun arresting people who show up to immigration court, The New York Times reported.
Officials had previously avoided the practice because they believed it would deter people from showing up for hearings, the Times said.
ICE agents now arrest migrants right after their hearings if they have been ordered deported or had their cases dismissed, allowing for swifter removal, immigration lawyers told the Times.
Federal offices told The Times they are saving valuable resources, allowing ICE to quickly identify migrants subject to deportation rather than forcing officers to track them down.
The migrants targeted by ICE in court are there because the government has initiated federal deportation proceedings against them for illegally entering the United States, the Times said. ICE is seeking to arrest people who are either likely ordered deported or “amendable” to expedited removal, which applies to migrants who have been in the country fewer than two years, the Times reported.
ICE encourages prosecutors to look for cases that could be dismissed to help accelerate deportations and allow for expedited removal, the Times said. Prosecutors are told to give ICE at least two days to plan for an arrest and to give the court a 24-hour warning, according to a memo obtained by the Times.
While a dismissal is usually a positive outcome for a migrant, lawyers told the Times, judges have not been informing migrants a dismissal can lead to their arrest.
Immigrants who enter the U.S. unlawfully are usually placed in deportation proceedings and must appear in court for several hearings, even if they apply for asylum, as their cases wind through the backlogged system, according to the Times.
The Times reported immigrants are beginning to skip their hearings after reading reports on social media about migrants being detained in court.
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