‘Self-deport’ signs posted at Bay Area immigration courthouses

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Inside some San Francisco Bay Area immigration courthouses, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are detaining people and posting signs warning migrants to “self-deport,” justice advocates said.

Multiple migrants were detained by ICE officers at San Francisco Immigration Court on Tuesday, as well as another man who was hauled away at Concord Immigration Court on May 21, according to witnesses and advocates.

Department of Homeland Security officials are ramping up enforcement actions against people seeking asylum at federal immigration courthouses nationwide.

On Wednesday morning, justice organizations and attorneys held a press conference on Montgomery Street in San Francisco to blast the Trump administration’s deportation policies, which advocates claim are “anti-immigrant terror tactics.” Rally speakers included Public Defender Mano Raju.

Raju told a large crowd assembled at the press conference, “Fundamental rights are under attack by the Trump regime.”

“Your right to go to court, to share your story with a judge, to present evidence. These are basic and critical Constitutional rights. These are cornerstones of our democracy. And we are here today to sound the alarm,” Raju said.

Advocates said ICE is escalating a “fear mongering campaign against noncitizens: conducting operations and arrests inside immigration court buildings, where people go to pursue their legal immigration proceedings. Misleading posters encouraging people to ‘self-deport’ have also been posted. These operations, along with misleading messaging by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, are an attempt to bypass the legal system, undermining due process for everyone.”

During court hearings, DHS attorneys can ask to dismiss a migrant’s immigration case, which exposes the person to immediate arrest by ICE agents who are waiting nearby.

“It’s very difficult to be an attorney and advise someone they have to go to court, they have to follow these rules and procedures, but not be able to guarantee they will be safe there,” said Milli Atkinson of the Justice and Diversity Center of The Bar Association of San Francisco.

Community groups are responding by accompanying people to immigration courthouses. They are encouraging noncitizens to speak to an attorney, do not go to court alone, and connect with local rapid response networks. A list of rapid response networks can be found on the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice’s website.

ICE’s website has a “self deportation” section warning immigrants, “If you’re illegally present in the U.S., you don’t have to — and shouldn’t — wait for ICE officials to arrest you. Instead, you can leave on your own terms. If ICE officials arrest you, there’s no going back. Most aliens ICE arrests are detained and eventually removed. In some cases, these people remain in ICE detention for months.”

A senior spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told KRON4 last week, “Secretary (Kristi) Noem is reversing Biden’s catch and release policy that allowed millions of unvetted illegal aliens to be let loose on American streets. This Administration is once again implementing the rule of law. Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been. If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.”