ICE has been using green card interviews as an opportunity to target people for possible deportation, according to different reports.
Axios reported that in one instance, a man was detained after his appointment to become a legal, permanent resident. In fact, the man's application for residency was approved on the same day he was detained by ICE.
"This whole thing could have been avoided because as the officer said, 'Your case is perfectly fine. There is nothing wrong with it,'" the man's immigration lawyer Jan Bejar said.
The man was married to a U.S. citizen and had been brought to the U.S. by his family on a tourism visa when he was 12.
The New York Times reported in November that dozens of foreign-born spouses had found themselves in handcuffs after attempting to follow legal immigration procedures.
One such case involved Katie Paul, a British citizen married to American Stephen Paul. The married couple, along with their 4-month-old baby, went to complete the final step in their immigration process, only to find Katie taken away in handcuffs, the New York Times reported.
"I had to take our baby from my crying wife's arms," Stephen Paul, 33, told the newspaper. "It's insane to have them rip our family apart. Whoever is directing this has completely lost touch with their mission to the country."
The newspaper reported that applicants often face a long and costly legal process. Sometimes, temporary visas lapse during the lengthy "adjustment-of-status" process. A 1986 a law states that spouses can still be eligible for permanent residency in such circumstances.
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