ICE Arrests Immigrants During Green-Card Interviews

As immigration enforcement intensifies under the Trump administration, U.S. federal agents have begun arresting immigrants during their green-card (permanent residency) interviews at USCIS offices. Several lawyers and immigrant-rights advocates are warning that this marks a significant shift in policy — and many immigrants may be caught up even if they have valid applications. 

Reports first emerged from San Diego, where ICE agents detained several people — including spouses of U.S. citizens — while they were undergoing green-card interviews. None had serious criminal records, but ICE allegedly cited prior visa overstays or immigration technicalities. 

Immigration attorneys say the arrests occurred within USCIS offices — places immigrants have traditionally viewed as “safe zones” for legal status processing. Now, some say that safe zone may be shrinking. 

“If you are removable, any federal building — including USCIS — is fair game,” one immigration lawyer told reporters. 

A recent survey shows that immigrants across the United States are feeling increasingly anxious: 22% say they personally know someone who has been arrested, detained, or deported since the start of 2025 — nearly triple the rate from earlier this year. 

Many are now hesitant to go to appointments, renew documents, or even visit government offices. Some have stopped seeking essential services, like medical care or driver’s-licence renewals, out of fear of enforcement. 

Though the recent arrests weren’t limited to a particular nationality, immigrants from Africa are among those reporting delays, rejections, or fears of enforcement as they attempt to regularize status. Advocacy groups warn that the crackdown could disproportionately affect Africans who came through visa lotteries, refugee programs, or marriage-based petitions. 

Civil-rights organizations say the arrests signal a sharp shift: US immigration processing — once a separate, administrative procedure — is increasingly being used as an enforcement moment. 

Under U.S. law, any “removable” non-citizen can be detained, even at federal buildings. But immigration attorneys say the new policy is having a chilling effect:

Applicants are cancelling or postponing their green-card interviews.

Spouses and children of U.S. citizens — many of them already living in the U.S. — are fearful to appear in person.

Families face uncertainty, financial hardship, and, in some cases, separation.

If you or a family member is applying for a green card:

• Understand that USCIS interviews may no longer be “safe zones.”
• Bring a trusted immigration lawyer (if possible).
• Avoid traveling or making large changes around your interview time.
• Keep documentation of your legal status, previous visas, and any submitted paperwork.
• Prepare for worst-case scenarios — set aside funds, gather family contacts, and be ready for emergencies.

For the immigrants in the U.S., these developments revive traumatic memories of past crackdowns. Many had seen the green-card process as the final step to security, stability, and legal permanence. Now, with arrests at legal appointments, that trust is eroding.

Community leaders are already mobilizing: offering legal aid, hosting online forums to warn others, and collecting testimonies from those affected.