ICE Intensifies Deportation Efforts with Arrests at Immigration Courtrooms

On Tuesday, a routine hearing at an immigration court in Van Nuys, California, took an unexpected turn for a Colombian family seeking asylum.

The judge informed Andres Roballo, the father, that the government intended to dismiss his deportation case. Surprised, Mr. Roballo responded hesitantly, "As long as I remain with my family."

Immediately after leaving the courtroom, plainclothes federal agents surrounded Mr. Roballo and escorted him to a separate room, while other agents guided his distressed wife, Luisa Bernal, and their toddler toward an elevator.

Outside the courthouse, Ms. Bernal collapsed on a bench, crying, "They have him, they have him. We did not expect this to happen."

Mr. Roballo’s detention is part of an intensified strategy by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to arrest migrants directly at immigration courts, marking a significant escalation in efforts to increase deportations.

According to immigration attorneys and internal documents, agents have begun taking into custody migrants immediately after hearings if they have removal orders or if their cases have been dismissed, facilitating quicker deportation processes.