ICE Arrests Husband of US Citizen Over Traffic Stop During Immigration Crackdown

ICE Arrests Husband of US Citizen Over Traffic Stop During Immigration Crackdown

Texas law enforcement officers stopped a family for a “traffic lane issue” and then reported the driver to ICE. The man, whose identity has not been revealed, is married to a US citizen and has two US-born children. He has no criminal record, according to the family’s immigration lawyer, and is currently working on obtaining his green card.

“The husband is currently undocumented,” the family’s immigration lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, wrote on social media. “Because of his manner of entry, he has to go through the consular process to get legal status.” According to Lincoln-Goldfinch, the consular green card process can take anywhere from two to six years.

During the three-hour traffic stop, the man’s wife and children were left waiting by the side of the road. One of their children, an infant, went without food or diapers during that time. The immigration lawyer chastised federal authorities for taking him in, claiming that he will still receive a green card.

“The end result of his case will be exactly the same, the only difference is that we added one more person to the already overburdened immigration court system,” she told me.

While obtaining permanent residence through marriage is considered a simple legal process, U.S. citizens who marry someone who entered the country illegally face a longer and more difficult journey.

Lincoln-Goldfinch lamented the end of the Biden administration’s Keeping Families Together program, which aimed to provide an expedited legal residency pathway to more than 500,000 undocumented spouses of US citizens. A federal court blocked the measure, leaving thousands of mixed-status families vulnerable to separation through deportation.

“It would’ve allowed people like this client to get protection from deportation, get a work permit, get legal status quickly,” claimed Lincoln-Goldfinch. “This is the result of the policies that are in place right now.”

Before Trump’s presidency, multiple Texas law enforcement agencies collaborated with ICE, and experts predict that partnership will grow during his second term. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has pledged to increase deportation operations and border security with the assistance of federal authorities. The state has also offered the Trump administration land to build detention facilities and expand border wall construction.

Reports of ICE arrests across the country are circulating online. While federal officials claim to be focusing on detaining and deporting migrants with criminal records, experts predict an increase in “collateral arrests,” in which undocumented individuals discovered near targeted migrants are also detained.

“If anyone else is in the house, in the car, or anywhere near that person and they reveal their immigration status or lack thereof, they will be arrested,” Lincoln-Goldfinch explained, adding that no reports of large-scale raids have been received yet.

When it comes to potential traffic stops, the lawyer advised undocumented individuals to drive only when absolutely necessary, and to let family members with US citizenship drive whenever possible.

ICE reported 593 arrests on Friday and 286 arrests on Saturday. During the 2024 federal fiscal year, the agency made about 310 arrests per day.

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