The new system
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This year, Associated Press reporters observed immigration court proceedings in 21 cities. Hearings repeatedly ended with cases dismissed by the government, allowing agents to arrest immigrants in courthouse hallways. AP reporters also reviewed internal records and spoke to judges, clerks and lawyers for the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to gain insight about the scope of the administration’s effort.
The government lawyer knew what was coming as she stood inside a courtroom and texted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent waiting in a corridor a few feet away.
“I can’t do this,” the lawyer said in a text message as she looked at her docket of cases. “This is a new emotional load.”
“I understand,” the agent responded. “Hopefully we meet again in a better situation.”
Nearby, a Cuban man who had lived in the United States for years stepped from an elevator and into the courtroom where the government lawyer was waiting for what the man thought was a routine hearing.
The man was doing what the law required, and brought along his wife, a legal resident, and their 7-month-old infant.
Then the lawyer quickly moved to have the man’s asylum claim dismissed and a judge agreed, making the man eligible for “expedited removal.” As he left the courtroom, the man was swarmed by plainclothes immigration agents who had been surveilling him. A struggle ensued and the wife’s shouts could be heard from the hallway as the lawyer moved on to the next case.
The agent replied four minutes later: “Got him.”
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At a Justice Department conference in February, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told the department's top drug prosecutors that the Trump administration wasn't interested in interdicting suspected drug vessels at sea anymore. Instead, he said, the U.S. should "just sink the boats," according to three people present for the speech.
