Two additional asylum seekers were arrested Tuesday after their hearings in Portland Immigration Court.
During the past two weeks, federal immigration officers have arrested at least four asylum seekers outside a Portland courtroom where they’ve shown up for required hearings in their cases. In all four instances, attorneys representing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have moved to dismiss the cases. The asylum seekers were detained immediately after their proceedings concluded.
Some of the roughly 20 people protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Portland stand outside their main office on Monday.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
Immigration attorneys have accused the government in court filings of manipulating the immigration system, saying Homeland Security officials are engaged in a “deceptive sleight of hand” that denies asylum seekers due process. Attorneys for the federal government have argued asylum seekers being arrested at court were wrongfully admitted into the United States and still have the chance of gaining asylum if it’s determined they have a “credible fear” of being returned to their home countries.
A spokesperson for ICE did not provide details on the new cases. Last week, Homeland Security officials said in a statement that the arrests at court are a shift in policy, and asylum seekers still have the chance to advance their case.
For these asylum seekers in Portland, the hearings at immigration court are a required part of the process. If they don’t appear, they risk being ordered to be deported by the immigration judge “in absentia,” according to federal immigration law.
One of the asylum seekers arrested Tuesday, identified in court documents as N-E-M-B, is a citizen of Ecuador. They arrived at a port of entry in San Diego in 2023, after the organized crime syndicate, Los Choneros, kidnapped and threatened N-E-M-B, court filings state.
The other person ICE arrested Tuesday, identified in court records as J-C-R-M, is an asylum seeker from Venezuela who arrived at a port of entry in Texas last year. J-C-R-M says he was threatened by his government over political beliefs and sought protection in the United States, according to court documents.
Following their arrests Tuesday, both quickly filed petitions and secured federal court orders that block their removal from Oregon. It appears in these cases, the orders came before ICE had removed them from the state.
Last week, ICE had already sent two asylum seekers — both from Mexico — it arrested to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, where they are both currently being held.
