ICE Turning Courts Into Deportation Traps

By Marco Poggio | September 5, 2025, 4:24 PM EDT

... Speaking through an interpreter, Judge Loprest delivered a condensed civics lesson for the 18 unauthorized immigrants in the courtroom, most of whom were from Central American countries, telling them how the immigration system worked — and warning them that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was challenging their right to be in the United States.

He told them about their rights to petition the U.S. government for benefits, such as work authorizations and green cards. He told them how to apply for asylum. He told them they'd be better off by getting a lawyer. And he pleaded with the noncitizens to attend all the required check-ins required by ICE ...

He then adjourned their cases to March 12 at 9 a.m., urging them to hold on to their hearing notices as proof of their right to be in court, in case they were questioned by immigration authorities ...

But moments later, the goodwill Judge Loprest carefully built collapsed into farce: As the immigrants stepped into the hallway, ICE agents grabbed them, placed them in handcuffs and led them away through a side stairway ...

https://www.law360.com/legalindustry/articles/2368405/judges-warn-ice-turning-courts-into-deportation-traps