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When attorney Andy Armstrong went to the Salt Lake City office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Dec. 2, he expected a typical appointment.
His client was there with his wife, a U.S. citizen, for an interview to check his background and verify the authenticity of their marriage. That’s the last step for someone to get their green card, or legal permanent residency.
The client was nicely dressed and feeling good, said Armstrong, who works with the Murray-based firm Stowell Crayk.
“There was nothing about his background that gave me any pause at all to think we would have any problem,” Armstrong said.
But instead of being told his green card was on the way, the youth soccer coach was called into a room.
“There were two officers from ICE who said they were taking him into custody to initiate removal action, or deportation action, against him,” Armstrong said. “And they handcuffed him, and they took him away without being able to say goodbye to his wife.”
The client is now in ICE custody. Armstrong expects him to be transferred to a detention center outside Las Vegas.
In a statement, ICE told KUER the man was required to leave the United States in 2008.
“He was arrested for overstaying his visa and will remain in ICE custody pending the remaining removal proceedings,” a spokesperson wrote.
But that’s a relatively common situation for people at their Citizenship and Immigration Services interviews who are also in the process of obtaining legal status, Armstrong said. Plus, overstaying a tourist visa is not a disqualifying factor for a green card through marriage.
Ultimately, Armstrong expects his client will be released on bond in about two weeks and eventually end up back in the interview room after his time in detention.
“He's not a danger to society, and he's not a flight risk, and he's got an American citizen wife and an American citizen child,” he said.
A search of Utah court records found two debt collection cases under the client’s name, along with a petition for a child’s name change. A search of federal court records yielded no results.
It’s common for ICE to arrest immigrants who lack legal status but have no criminal record. What surprised Armstrong was that his client, who was clearly on the path to permanent residency, was arrested.
The client is scheduled to appear in immigration court in early January. He’ll make his case to the judge, and Armstrong expects him to be referred back to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to continue his case there.
“He ends up exactly back where he started — I mean, status-wise, but he, his wife, his family, his child, having suffered needlessly,” he said.
He sees the detention as a waste of ICE’s time and money.
This is the first arrest at the Salt Lake City office that Armstrong is aware of, but similar arrests have occurred recently in San Diego.
“This speaks to, and this is my own personal opinion, that part of the Trump administration's push to do immigration enforcement is to sow the seeds of fear in the immigrant community so that they either self-deport or that they don't try to become legalized,” he said.
That’s even affecting clients with straightforward immigration cases.
“You've got a lot of people here who are very afraid, including people who should not be afraid because they've done everything the right way,” he said.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
