Four asylum seekers were detained by federal agents on Tuesday at San Francisco Immigration Court, a move the Department of Homeland Security has portrayed as part of a broader return to “the rule of law” but that immigration attorneys have called unconstitutional and unprecedented in U.S. history. 

According to the San Francisco Bar Association, the individuals were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in two separate sweeps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, while attending hearings to claim asylum. All four had pending asylum applications.

“It’s a clear violation of the Constitution and due process rights,” Milli Atkinson, an immigration attorney with the SF Bar Association’s Attorney of the Day program, told SFGATE. Association members were at the courthouse when ICE swept in during the morning and were advocating for one of the detainees.

Atkinson added that ICE had already determined at the time of arrest that each individual should pursue asylum before a judge – a legal process outlined by Congress. She argued that the agency is now attempting to reverse course by claiming a change in circumstances, a justification she described as unfounded.

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Under federal law, those eligible for asylum are permitted to stay in the U.S. while their applications are reviewed by an immigration judge. Atkinson said Tuesday’s arrests short-circuited that process. 

ICE stormed SF court to arrest 4 asylum seekers, denounced as unlawful

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/asylum-seekers-arrested-ice-san-francisco-20349387.php