In a startling shift of US immigration enforcement, foreign-born spouses of American citizens are now facing immediate arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during what are typically routine marriage-based green card interviews. This new, aggressive policy targets individuals who have overstayed their visas, even if they entered the United States legally and have no criminal record.
A Disturbing New Trend at USCIS Offices
According to reports from the New York Times and CBS 8, this practice marks a significant escalation. Immigration attorney Saman Nasseri confirmed to CBS 8 that ICE and USCIS have started implementing a policy where arrests are made at USCIS offices during green card interviews for anyone identified as a visa overstay. "If they're out of status, ICE makes that arrest at the interviews," Nasseri stated, highlighting that this was an unprecedented move.
The situation appears to be particularly concentrated at the San Diego USCIS office. Attorney Habib Hasbini reported that the first known incident occurred on November 12, just before ICE issued a related internal memo. Since then, he has been inundated with calls from distressed families whose loved ones were detained at the same facility. Saman Nasseri alone has had five clients, all spouses of US citizens with clean backgrounds, detained in just the last week.
Personal Ordeals: American Families Caught in the Crossfire
The policy is having profound personal consequences. The New York Times detailed several harrowing cases from San Diego. In one instance, American citizen Audrey Hestmark watched as her German husband, Tom Bilger, was taken into custody by masked ICE agents who presented a QR code instead of physical identification.
In another case, British national Katie Paul, who is pregnant and considered high-risk, was detained despite the couple's clear plans to build their life in the US. Reports also mention an arrest that unfolded in front of a 4-month-old baby, adding to the trauma for the families involved.
Immigration lawyer Andrew Nietor, a former chair of the San Diego chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, estimates that several dozen foreign-born spouses have been detained in the San Diego region since November 12. This figure is based on communications among legal professionals, though the exact number remains unclear as many couples attend these interviews without legal representation. The US government has not released any official tally of such detentions.
Legal Context and Official Stance
In every known case, the sole reason given by ICE agents for the arrest has been that the individual had overstayed their tourist or business visa. An arrest warrant reviewed by The New York Times stated that "probable cause" existed to believe the individual was "removable from the United States."
A USCIS spokesperson, Matthew J Tragesser, explained that apprehensions at their offices can occur if individuals have outstanding warrants, are subject to court-issued removal orders, or have committed fraud, crimes, or other immigration violations. He clarified that such arrests are typically carried out by ICE.
This new enforcement approach is particularly jarring because of the specific context of marriage-based green cards. It is common for applicants' temporary visas to expire while their adjustment-of-status applications are pending, a process that can take many months. Crucially, under a 1986 immigration statute, a spouse who entered the US lawfully remains eligible for a marriage-based green card even after their visa has lapsed.
"Congress was unambiguous — these people are eligible for green cards," Doug Rand, a former senior official at US Citizenship and Immigration Services during the Biden administration, told the NYT. While federal law does not explicitly prohibit authorities from detaining such spouses, such arrests during the application process have been historically rare. The current administration has begun carrying out these detentions without announcing any formal policy change, leaving applicants and their lawyers in a state of alarm and uncertainty.
