00:00The ongoing immigration crackdown is now hitting green card appointments.
00:04San Diego immigration attorneys say their clients are being detained by ICE at their green card interviews.
00:12It's a tactic they say they've never seen at U.S. immigration offices.
00:17ABC 10 News reporter Laura Acevedo spoke with attorneys who say they feel blindsided.
00:24I spoke with several local immigration attorneys who tell me their clients walked into this building for their interviews with
00:32USCIS on Wednesday.
00:34They never walked out. They were instead detained and are now in custody in Otay Mesa.
00:39The USCIS office downtown is where people go for all things immigration, including green card and naturalization interviews.
00:48On Wednesday morning, Tessa Cabrera's client had his green card interview.
00:53He was petitioned by his U.S. citizen daughter.
00:56The officer said, I'll be right back and stepped out.
01:00And then right then two ICE officers walked in.
01:02They asked him what his name was and then put him in handcuffs.
01:06Her client from Mexico has lived in the U.S. since 2002.
01:10He never walked out of his interview.
01:12Instead, Cabrera says he was taken to the basement of the federal building and is now detained at the Otay
01:19Mesa Detention Center.
01:21This document was handed to me by the ICE officers that arrested him yesterday.
01:25The document is labeled Department of Homeland Security Warrant for Arrest.
01:30It states they have probable cause based on statements made to the immigration officer
01:35or evidence that the person lacks immigration status or is removable under immigration law.
01:42It implies to me that they used the information that they gathered at his green card interview
01:46to then decide that he was someone that they could detain.
01:50At least two other attorneys have confirmed to ABC 10 News their clients with visa overstays were detained Wednesday in
01:58similar fashion.
01:59In a statement, the agency told us they're, quote, responsible for administering America's lawful immigration system,
02:06ensuring the integrity of the immigration process.
02:10They say apprehensions can happen if people have outstanding warrants, are subject to removal orders,
02:16or have committed fraud, crimes, or other violations while in the U.S.
02:21Cabrera says her client has no criminal history,
02:25but he's now placed in removal proceedings and has a court date in early December.
02:30Laura Acevedo, ABC 10 News.
