Can your Green Card interview get you arrested? ICE detains spouses and parents of US citizens, spark alarm

Family-based Green Card route under strain as San Diego office sees ICE arrests

US immigration authorities have begun detaining some visa overstays, including spouses and parents of American citizens, during routine Green Card interviews at a federal office in San Diego, immigration attorneys have told local media.

Lawyers say at least nine people across two law firms were taken into custody in recent weeks at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office, after arriving for scheduled interviews in family-based permanent residency cases.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers allegedly entered interview rooms, handcuffed applicants and moved them to detention, despite the applicants having no criminal record, according to attorneys Saman Nasseri, Habib Hasbini and Tessa Cabrera.

Attorney Hasbini told CBS8 that the first detention he saw occurred on November 12, just before an internal memo from ICE, and that he has had four more cases since.

He and Nasseri say the pattern appears new and, so far, limited to the San Diego USCIS office, though they have been receiving calls from other affected families.

For applicants and their US citizen relatives, the immediate risk is that attending a Green Card interview, a mandatory step, can now lead directly to immigration detention and possible removal if they are out of status.

Nasseri told CBS8 that ICE and USCIS have started implementing a policy under which ICE arrests visa overstays at USCIS offices during Green Card interviews.

He said five of his clients were taken into custody last week alone.

“None of my clients in this situation have any arrests or criminal history. They entered legally but overstayed their visas,” he said, adding that all were married to US citizens and were following the standard family-based Green Card process.

Hasbini confirmed similar incidents involving his own clients.

“The first incident occurred on November 12… Since then, I’ve had four more cases, and I’ve been receiving many calls from people arrested at the same facility,” he told CBS8.

Both lawyers said they had not previously seen this pattern in San Diego, despite years of practice in immigration law.

Attorney Tessa Cabrera told ABC10 that her client, a Mexican national who has lived in the US since 2002, was detained during his Green Card interview at the same USCIS office.

According to Cabrera, the man’s US citizen daughter had filed for his permanent residency.

During the interview, the USCIS officer said, “I’ll be right back,” Cabrera recounted. Two ICE officers then entered the room, confirmed his name and handcuffed him.

He was first taken to the basement of the federal building, then transferred to Otay Mesa Detention Center, she said.

Cabrera added that ICE officers provided a “Warrant for Arrest” issued by the Department of Homeland Security, citing probable cause based on statements made in the interview or evidence that he lacked lawful status and was removable under immigration law.

An ICE spokesperson told CBS8 that the agency is focused on enforcing federal immigration laws through “targeted operations” that prioritise national security, public safety and border security.

“Individuals unlawfully present in the United States, including those out of status at federal sites such as USCIS offices, may face arrest, detention, and removal in accordance with US immigration law,” the spokesperson said.

There was no indication in the local reports of any new public directive specifically ordering arrests at Green Card interviews, and USCIS has not publicly commented on the San Diego office incidents.