‘Nothing to compare it to’: Immigration attorneys describe chaotic and complex system

As federal immigration enforcement intensifies, suburban immigration attorneys are stepping up efforts to protect clients and keep them informed about their rights.

Battles waged on behalf of their clients largely take place away from public spotlight, in contrast to the dramatic scenes of daily protests outside the Broadview U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Facility. But they carry their own brand of intensity.

“A lot of what we as practitioners are navigating is within the same sort of environment of chaos that you see on the outside,” said Trisha Chokshi, an immigration attorney based in Mount Prospect.

As ICE pursues enforcement goals, due process is being ignored, she said.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials deny allegations that detainees aren’t receiving constitutionally protected judicial due process.

“The average illegal alien gets far more due process than most Americans,” DHS said in a statement attributed to an unnamed senior official. “The fact of the matter is those who are in our country illegally have a choice — they can leave the country voluntarily or be arrested and deported.”

Gurnee-based immigration attorney Jeffrey Middlesworth said enforcement efforts have reached unprecedented levels.

“There's nothing to compare it to in previous administrations,” he said. “Even under the first Trump administration, enforcement, it was targeted at people who maybe had missed their immigration court or had a serious criminal record. Now, it's just kind of rounding up anyone who looks like they could be undocumented.”

Middlesworth said one significant challenge stems from a recent Board of Immigration Appeals decision eliminating bond for the vast majority of people detained by ICE. Detainees could face six to nine months in custody with no guarantee of winning their cases, he said.

“It would be the same as if you told criminal lawyers that bond doesn't exist anymore,” Middlesworth explained.

And there are other obstacles as well.

Because Illinois law prohibits immigration detention centers in the state, ICE uses the Broadview facility to quickly move detainees to other states, Chokshi said.

Attorneys are left to navigate a complex bureaucratic web as families try to locate their loved ones.

“To say that it's been a challenging few months is probably the biggest understatement,” Chokshi said. “It’s been very overwhelming for these families.”

Middlesworth said transferring detainees out of state leaves them with three options: wait out their cases in detention while potentially being transferred across the country and forced to switch lawyers; hiring a federal attorney to submit an expensive habeas corpus petition claiming unlawful detention; or self-deporting.

He also points to a recent U.S. Supreme Court overturning a lower court order that banned immigration agents from stopping someone based on factors such as appearance, language and place of employment.

“They're just driving around and looking for people who fit a racial profile,” Middlesworth said.

He warned of unintended consequences of such tactics, including crime victims hesitating to contact police because they fear detention.

“Who wants to call the police now if they're undocumented? It's going to make us all less safe,” Middlesworth said.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at DHS, called allegations that federal agents engage in racial profiling “disgusting, reckless and categorically false.”

“What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is if they are illegally in the U.S. — not their skin color, race or ethnicity,” she said in a statement.

Officers uses reasonable suspicion to make arrests and do not make indiscriminate stops, she added.

However, U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who is leading enforcement efforts in Chicago, told a WBEZ reporter last month agents are arresting people based partly on “how they look.”

According to McLaughlin, federal officers have faced a 1,000% increase in assaults against them, as well as attacks on ICE facilities like the one in Dallas, where two detainees were killed and a third injured by a gunman authorities allege was anti-ICE.

Waukegan-based attorney Greta Berna said enhanced immigration enforcement is having a spillover effect in family law court proceedings. She described a case where a father has repeatedly failed to appear out of fear of being detained.

“Even immigrants that are just dealing with family issues are scared to show up in court,” she said.

Immigration attorney Rocio Becerril said her Warrenville office has been flooded with calls for deportation defense since the onset of Operation Midway Blitz last month. She has heard of people being apprehended while at Chicago's immigration office.

“We have to explain to our clients, ‘If you go to an immigration court, they could detain you in the hallway,’” Becerril said. “If you do not go to immigration court, the judge will enter a deportation order in your absence.”

Becerril, who came to the United States at age 10 from Mexico, said she remains committed to empowering clients. She uses social media to educate people about constitutional rights and advises people that law enforcement generally needs search warrants to enter homes.

“I want them to know that they have rights under the Constitution. I want them to know that they are not illegals. They are undocumented. I want them to know that this is going to be temporary,” she said.

Chokshi also provides clients with rights materials and makes sure they have her number on hand at all times. If they are parents or caregivers of young children, they should have important documents like powers of attorney in place.

“I do think that there is strength in people taking photos and videos of these interactions (between immigrants and law enforcement), because people do need to see it more,” she added. “And so I have continued to encourage people to do that. Take out your phone. Record everything you can.”