U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are continuing to arrest illegal aliens following dismissal of their asylum claims in a Houston courthouse.
On Monday, ICE agents in plain clothes arrested three men outside a southwest Houston immigration court. On Tuesday, three more men were arrested outside another immigration court located on South Gessner, also in southwest Houston.
According to immigration attorney Bianca Santorini, two of the men arrested Tuesday were from Venezuela and one was from Mexico.
“What we’re seeing is that they’re focusing exclusively on individuals who have been in the United States for less than two years, regardless as to whether those people have already filed their asylum applications, have no criminal history, and have complied with coming to their hearings or not,” Santorini said. “What’s happening is that they show up for their court hearing expecting to get their date for their next court hearing or turn in some documents, and the government at that point moves to dismiss” their asylum claim.
These actions fall under the Trump administration’s reinstated expedited removal policy, which allows ICE to swiftly deport individuals who have been in the U.S. for less than two years. Previously, the policy applied only to individuals who had been in the country for fewer than 14 days and were detained within 100 miles of the border.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated that Secretary Kristi Noem is “reversing Biden’s catch and release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets. Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been.”
On Wednesday, ICE agents were also observed outside another immigration court in the Greenspoint area, although no arrests had been reported as of publication.
Late last week, ICE also announced the results of a joint investigation involving Homeland Security Investigations, the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The investigation led to the arrest of three illegal aliens after the issuance of a search warrant related to suspected child sexual abuse material.
According to the official announcement, “Edgar Javier Escobedo Castillo, an 18-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, was criminally arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material. Javier Escobedo Rangel and Nieves Castillo Guzman, both 49-year-old illegal aliens from Mexico, were taken into custody for administrative immigration violations.”
This case is part of an ongoing collaborative effort between the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigation Houston’s Galveston office.
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