Houston, Texas – Oscar Gato Sanchez had gotten dressed up for his day in immigration court. The 25-year-old wore a red button-down, black slacks and dress shoes, his dark hair trimmed short with the aim of leaving a good impression.
It was a Monday afternoon in June, and Gato Sanchez, a Cuban immigrant, had come to present himself before a United States immigration judge.
As he sat inside the Texas courtroom, he had no reason to doubt that the court would eventually hear his case.
Gato Sanchez was seeking asylum on the basis that his life would be in danger if he returned to Cuba. There, human rights groups have accused the government of repression and torture, and Gato Sanchez feared he would face repercussions for having attended recent antigovernment protests on the island.
While he waited to go before the judge, his aunt, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, sat in the room outside. She was anxious. The clock seemed to move more slowly than usual.
“What is taking so long?” his aunt, a Houston resident, asked a friend next to her.
But the two women were not the only ones waiting outside the courtroom. Near the elevators, four men sat staring at their phones, dressed in ordinary street clothes.
Around 3:15pm, Gato Sanchez emerged from the courtroom with a folder of documents in his hands. As soon as he did, the four men surrounded him. It was as if they already knew Gato Sanchez’s case had been dismissed.
They were federal agents, and they were in the courthouse to take Gato Sanchez into custody as soon as his case was thrown out.
His aunt was frantic. She tried to ask for information. But the only details the men would give her was that her nephew would be sent to Conroe, Texas, the site of the largest detention centre in the Houston area.
The men did not even tell her whether they were from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or another federal law enforcement agency.
“Why, God, did they do this?” His aunt screamed, overcome with emotion. As the agents took Gato Sanchez away, his aunt’s friend yelled out to him.
“You’re not a bad person,” she said through tears.
Gato Sanchez is one of the hundreds of people recently detained immediately after leaving their immigration hearings. Advocates fear the courthouse arrests not only violate the right to due process but also discourage immigrants from pursuing legal means to stay in the US.
“These are people that are doing the right thing,” said Cesar Espinosa, the executive director of Houston immigrant rights nonprofit FIEL.
“You’re between a rock and a hard place. If you don’t show up, they’re going to come get you. If you do show up, they’re going to come get you, which is not due process.”
