The Colombian Immigrant couple planning their wedding appeared for a routine sign -up on ice and one was deported

When a couple from Colombia who planned their wedding appeared to apply with the US immigration authorities, one was awarded the next date of the meeting. The other was Closed and deported.

Jhojan does not know why Felipe was detained at a meeting on February 5th with immigration and customs conduct at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But Jhojan was so worried after Felipe’s deportation that he had not appeared for the next application a month later. Jhojan insisted that Associated Press denies the surnames of the married couple, fearing retaliation.

He is among many people who are now afraid that once a routine immigration application will be used as an opportunity to deal with them. Appointments have become a source of anxiety asPresident Donald Trumppressing forward with a campaignmass deportationsAnd the number of people in ice custody has reached its highest level since November 2019.

Check that Ice follows some people who release to continue asylum or other immigration cases as they break throughresidual court system. The government did not say how many people were detained at such meetings or whether it was a common practice now, but advocates and immigration and lawyers are worried that people could stop appearing, which will be further risk from the deportation.

“If you appear, they will deport you. If you don’t, and they will deport you,” Jhojan said, 23, for AP this week.

The US Government says little

Ice and his parent agencyThe Ministry of Homeland Security, did not respond to repeated requests for commentary on immigrants who were detained on the application.

Since the federal government has published small information, it is difficult to resolve the facts from the rumor asThe fears are furiousIn many immigrant communities. However, Trump made the priority of deporting anyone who is in the United States illegally, which is a sharp shift from his predecessor, Joe Biden, who focused only on immigrants who considered public security or threats of national security, and people stopped at the border.

Ice has arrested 32,809 people since Trump has taken his duty, a senior immigration and a customs implementation official during the call with reporters said on Wednesday. About 47,600 people are in custody on the ice, according to an ICE officer, who spoke provided anonymity in accordance with the guidelines set by the administration.

This is the first time in four years that Ice has arrested more people than customs and a border protection, indicating that more immigrants have been detained in the United States than along its borders.

Immigration application

Ice invites people to meetings for several reasons, including issuing a court date. If the immigrant violates the law during this time or the judge rejects their appeal to remain in the US, Ice may detaine them and deport them.

In Louisiani, Ice was detained by an immigrant last month who was asked to appear under the guise that he was eligible for another program with less supervision, according to the American Freedom Freedom Freedom, Louisiana, who refused to offer further details.

Ice also locked some people who were recently considered to qualify for asylum and are unlikely to escape from the authorities.

John Torres, a former director of ICE duties, said it was difficult to comment on detail without more information on any case. But, he added, “the main reason why these things happen is that something has changed in their status or something has been revealed about their background.”

Targets are some asylum seekers

Immigrant fromEcuadorWho is in his 20s is one of the asylum seekers who have been detained, said Rosa Barrec’s lawyer.

It happened on the first application of the man, February 3rd. The man surrendered to border agents after entering illegally in the US three weeks earlier. Ice officials have interviewed that time and let him out of custody, concluding that he has a reasonable fear of persecution if he returns to his home country, according to Barrel.

The publication suggested that Ice was not worried that he would escape. The fact that he didn’t make it easier for him to close him.

“My family called me a surprised panic,” said Barreta, who runs private practice in Philadelphia, where a man’s family lives. “When I asked the reason, he just said that it was based on executive commands and that he no longer set anything.”

He had no criminal judgments and had no contact with the police during his few weeks in the US, Barred said, excluding any red flag that he could imagine.

Lawyers tell immigrants to prepare

Lawyers cannot advise clients to simply skip meetings, which would lead to a deportation order. Instead, advocates and lawyers invite immigrants to prepare for meetings and detention. They warn immigrants to notice sudden changes in the way they make their reports-for a meeting that have always been virtual instead.

They also encourage immigrants to makeEmergency arrangements to care for childrenand provide details about your cases with friends and family. This includes sharing a unique identification number that Ice uses to monitor people.

Groups for immigrants say that people should, preferably a lawyer, bring someone to ICE meetings.

Proponents also return to tactics from the first Trump administration, telling people that a group of supporters take them to their applications and wait outside.

“When people feel insecure to apply, it sets it all for failure,” said Heidi Altman, Vice President of Politics at the National Immigration Law Center. “This undermines the trust that people need to have.”

This story is originally shown on Fortune.com

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