The man just got his immigration case dismissed, and his wife and 8-year-old son were following him when agents surrounded him and handcuffed him outside the downtown Los Angeles courtroom. Erick Eduardo Fonseca Solorzano was left speechless, while his wife trembled in panic. The federal agents, speaking in Spanish, informed him that he would be put into expedited removal proceedings. Just moments before, Judge Peter A. Kim had dismissed his deportation case on Friday. However, as his son watched in wide-eyed disbelief, agents swiftly escorted him to a service elevator — and he disappeared. The boy remained silent, sticking close to his mother, tears welling in his eyes.
Traumatized for life, Lindsay Toczylowski, chief executive and co-founder of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, expressed her concern for the boy’s well-being. She reached out to the family to assist them with their case. Similar scenes are playing out nationwide as government attorneys request the court to dismiss immigrants’ deportation cases only to have them immediately arrested by agents upon leaving the courtroom for expedited removal without judicial review. These courthouse arrests mark an escalation in the administration’s efforts to hasten deportations, targeting migrants who cannot prove they have been in the U.S. for more than two years.
The policies surrounding expedited removals, historically reserved for border cases, have been expanded by the Trump administration. More than 900,000 individuals were granted immigration parole under an application initiated in January 2023, only to be repurposed as a means for self-deportation by the Trump administration. The crackdown on immigrants following the rules and complying with government procedures has sparked outrage among immigrant rights advocates. Immigration court, once a place for migrants to present their claims for relief and undergo due process, is now a source of fear and uncertainty for those seeking legal status in the U.S. The coordinated effort between Homeland Security lawyers and federal agents to arrest immigrants leaving courtrooms has left families and lawyers distressed in various cities across the country.
Not really sure why this matters, but the government’s abrupt dismissal of deportation cases without proper explanation or consideration of individual circumstances has left many immigrants feeling disillusioned and vulnerable. Maybe it’s just me, but the lack of transparency and due process in these proceedings raises serious concerns about the fairness of the immigration system. As courthouse arrests become more frequent, immigrant rights advocates are sounding the alarm on the erosion of legal protections for migrants and the disregard for basic human rights in the pursuit of expediting deportations.
It’s another attempt by the Trump administration to stoke fear in the community. And it specifically appears to be targeting people who are doing the right thing, following exactly what the government has asked them to do. The rules of the game are changing daily for migrants trying to navigate a complex and unforgiving system. Immigration court, once a beacon of hope for those seeking refuge in the U.S., has become a battleground where due process is sacrificed in the name of expediency. As families are torn apart and individuals are detained without warning, the human cost of these policies becomes painfully clear.
