'Dystopian': Expert slams ICE for demanding attorney 'make a Sophie's Choice'
A prominent immigration expert was horrified at the latest report on how Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are going about their jobs.
The incident, caught on an Instagram reel, took place in San Diego, California, at a courthouse where numerous people awaited an immigration hearing. ICE showed up to arrest people who were following the legal process.
In the video, an ICE officer told an attorney, who was explaining that some of her clients included a family with health issues, to choose which of her clients would be arrested and which would be spared to get their hearing.
"I'm not picky so I'm giving you the options cause I have to take one. If not I'll take all," the officer says.
"This is dystopian," said immigration attorney and American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick. "An ICE officer explains he was ordered to arrest migrants at their court hearings — even those with pending cases. Then he asks an attorney to make a Sophie's Choice."
In recent months, the Trump administration has ramped up ICE arrests and deportations, often targeting people who were legally protected and with virtually no due process.
Protests erupted in Los Angeles over ICE raids, prompting the Trump administration to federalize the National Guard and even send in hundreds of Marines. These protests have since spread to numerous other cities.