Marriage no longer safe haven for the undocumented

BeeHive · BeeHive

Quote:

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - These days the words "until death do us part" matter a great deal less to the nation's immigration enforcement agency.

ICE confirms it has arrested an undocumented Houston man who Fox 26 has learned is legally married to an American citizen.

While that immigrant is not her client, Attorney Manna Yegani is speaking out in protest.

"What we see is an extreme crackdown on the immigrant community and that instills fear," said Yegani.

The arrest occurred at the federal facility on Gears Road where the undocumented man appeared with his spouse to apply for legal status. The 48-year-old Salvadoran national was taken into custody when records revealed he was subject to a deportation order after failing to appear in court back in 2006. It's the type of enforcement lawyers say ICE rarely took during the Obama administration, which sought to keep families together. Immigration attorneys see recent actions against applicants married to American citizens as clear evidence of calculated repression.

"ICE is there and their clients being cuffed and at that point the attorney is helpless because we don't have the authority to stop that. Instead of coming forward to legalize themselves people are going into hiding," said Yegani.

A spokesman for ICE tells Fox 26 the agency has long had the authority to detain the undocumented family members of citizens and has now chosen to exercise the option of arrest when warranted.

Immigrant activist Cesar Espinosa of Fiel says this case is a chilling example of the Trump administrations' willingness to break up families.

"We hope that ICE knows that if people are trying to do things the correct way, they should not be punished for that and we hope to see some changes so that these practices don't escalate," said Espinosa.

"This is the break up of families. This is the break-up of family unity," added Yegani who says once deported, these immigrants, with American families, must wait a decade to return to the U.S. legally.

The arrest occurred at the federal facility on Gears Road where the undocumented man appeared with his spouse to apply for legal status. The 48-year-old Salvadoran national was taken into custody when records revealed he was subject to a deportation order after failing to appear in court back in 2006. It's the type of enforcement lawyers say ICE rarely took during the Obama administration, which sought to keep families together. Immigration attorneys see recent actions against applicants married to American citizens as clear evidence of calculated repression.

A spokesman for ICE tells Fox 26 the agency has long had the authority to detain the undocumented family members of citizens and has now chosen to exercise the option of arrest when warranted.

Looks like if you bail out of a court order you will not be able to adjust.

http://amp.fox26houston.com/news/270563147-story

IamAman · IamAman

This is a pretty scary thing.

cmartinez · cmartinez

Why is this scary?

Stay out of trouble and you don't have any reason to fear being detained by ICE. Don't skip out on court and don't do anything to get yourself sent to court (driving without a license if you're not under DACA is unavoidable and I understand that. I was sent to court myself for this before DACA). Yes, you always hear about the exceptional case of someone being detained with little to no reason, but for the most part, you stay out of trouble you don't encounter ICE.

I'm starting to sound like a Trump supporter and Blue Lives Matter person...but geez the fear no getting and victimization are getting out of countril.

BeeHive · BeeHive

Were people able to adjust their status under Obama if they skipped out on court?

JohannBernoulli1667 · JohannBernoulli1667

I didn't hear of this before, so basically if you have an order, you can't adjust... That sucks even with a waiver?

BeeHive · BeeHive

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohannBernoulli1667

I didn't hear of this before, so basically if you have an order, you can't adjust... That sucks even with a waiver?

What does a waiver do? Does it pardon you for skipping court ?

undoconyc · undoconyc

They should do away with the marriage visa altogether.

JohannBernoulli1667 · JohannBernoulli1667

This is Sessions at work... He needs to go.

biscuitneck · biscuitneck

So, what else is new?

Anything in your past will come back to haunt you. That is basically the message they are sending.

CNN had a featured article about a guy who came here decades ago and missed a court date for a hearing in 2004 or 2006, and then he later married a U.S. Citizen and had a few kids, and now suddenly because of that court date he accidentally missed he is now going to be deported. The dude has apparently no criminal record either.

Honestly it feels like the only reason they haven't gotten rid of DACA is because they haven't figured out a way to fight against all of the backlash they are going to get. But once they figure that out, don't be surprised if they throw it in the trash can.

I mean just look at what Trump did a few days ago. He tweeted, fucking TWEETED he was banning transgenders from serving in the military. According to him he consulted with generals and whatnot, yet it apparently caught high ranking military officials off guard. How fucked up is this guy?

This administration gives zero fucks.

Got_Daca · Got_Daca

This is the Deportation Force they were talking about.

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Marriage no longer safe haven for the undocumented