Recent Reports have shown an escalation in the deportation operations carried out by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has also heightened surveillance on all undocumented immigrants, including the use of electronic ankle monitors and in-person or virtual home visits. Furthermore, immigration judges have now revoked the previous prosecutorial discretion (PD) practice, opting to issue deportation orders directly if asylum seekers are deemed to lack legal basis, and any undocumented immigrant with criminal charges is a target for ICE arrests.
New Yorker Xiao Wang, who entered the country illegally from the southwest border two years ago, recently received a notice from immigration officials requesting her to await a home visit. A female officer showed up as scheduled, checked her documents, asked her some basic questions, and finally took her photograph.
“This is what they call a personal home visit. ICE has stepped up monitoring for everyone, either through ankle monitors or cellphone tracking,” stated Manager Wang from the law firm of Qin Susan in an interview with Epoch Times on August 6. “They might require immigrants to download SmartLINK software, which informs them about virtual home visits week by week, requiring them to be home. We had a client who did not report to ICE as directed from outside, and when we explained the situation, they wanted to install monitoring software on his phone, but because it was a Chinese model, they had to opt for the ankle monitor instead.”
Manager Wang further explained that this monitoring primarily targets undocumented immigrants, excluding those who entered with visas or passed through immigration with ICE approved “credible fear interviews” at customs, as long as they have not broken immigration laws. For instance, in the case of Korean student Yeonsoo Go, ICE arrested her on the grounds of an expired visa, but upon discovering her visa was valid until December of that year, she was eventually released.
In another case involving Long Island University student Sara Lopez Garcia, Lawyer Wang analyzed that despite her possessing a “special juvenile visa,” if her mother faces deportation orders (as she entered as a child under her mother’s asylum application), until Garcia receives permanent residency, her own status cannot prevent her from being involved in her mother’s deportation procedures.
Before the second administration of Trump, immigration judges enjoyed broad discretionary powers (PD). When judges deemed an asylum seeker’s conditions insufficient for approval, many opted for administrative closure. This essentially allowed immigrants to remain undocumented in the U.S., with the Department of Homeland Security even tolerating their presence, granting them work permits and some benefits. However, even with this leniency, such immigrants still faced the risk of ICE arrests.
Under the current harsh immigration policies, immigration judges no longer exercise prosecutorial discretion, but instead issue deportation orders directly.
“In such cases, ICE can directly take and deport immigrants,” Manager Wang stated. “Usually, the judgment states: your asylum claim is ‘without legal basis,’ meaning if on the application they asked if you had faced persecution, and you answered ‘yes, please see personal statement,’ but the judge does not find evidence of persecution in your statement, or notices inconsistencies in your route through a third country where you did not apply for asylum, the judge may issue a deportation order.”
In such scenarios, if the immigrant is represented by a lawyer, there is still a chance to appeal.
Currently, not only are judges directly issuing deportation orders, but ICE is also reopening and reviewing 400,000 past cases. Wang advised immigrants with pending cases to update their addresses with the court to ensure they receive trial notifications, as missing the appeal period can lead to complications.
Manager Wang explained how he recently declined representation of a client involved in a case related to “Popular Driving School” in Flushing.
“This person bought a driver’s license from the driving school, got caught later, and yesterday the family came seeking our help. We had to turn them down as in such scenarios, deportation awaits,” Wang stated. “For those who entered illegally and committed criminal offenses, they are definitely under ICE surveillance, entering into deportation procedures.”
Additionally, different scenarios apply when receiving traffic tickets. White and yellow tickets can usually be resolved by paying fines without major issues, while pink tickets, indicating criminal traffic violations such as driving under the influence (DUI), reckless driving, or drug-related offenses, can lead to ICE involvement and the risk of arrest and deportation.
“Even though ICE no longer declares they aim to arrest 3,000 people daily, their enforcement and deportation operations have remained consistent,” Manager Wang concluded.