Courthouses across the United States are becoming high-risk locations for immigrants seeking asylum, as enforcement operations by federal agents intensify under President Donald Trump’s administration. This week, 30-year-old Oscar Gato Sanchez, a Cuban asylum seeker, was arrested by plainclothes US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers moments after a judge dismissed his case at a Houston federal courthouse. “I’m a Cuban citizen unjustly arrested,” he said as he was led away in handcuffs to a detention centre in Conroe, north of the city.
His aunt, Olaidys Sanchez, a legal US resident, wept as the unmarked vehicle sped off with her nephew inside.
The incident has raised alarm among immigration advocates, who say courthouse arrests are on the rise, with ICE agents operating either undercover or wearing face coverings. These operations have been emboldened since Trump resumed office in January, with his administration greenlighting enforcement within court premises.
Similar scenes have unfolded across the country. In late May, video emerged from a court in San Antonio showing a woman crying out for help to collect her children after she was detained, while her son tried to console her during the arrest.
Oscar Gato Sanchez, who arrived in the US in December 2023 and voluntarily surrendered to authorities, had filed an asylum application in May. On Monday, he appeared at the Houston courthouse expecting a hearing date to be scheduled. Instead, the judge dismissed his application, reportedly based on a public prosecutor’s assessment that it was “no longer in the best interest of the government.”
His new lawyer, Bianca Santorini, who began representing him after his sudden detention, explained: “As soon as your case is dismissed, it’s like it never existed. There’s no pending application, and that’s when ICE moves in.”
Santorini believes ICE has informants inside the court system. “They don’t question every person leaving court — they already know who to target,” she said. Despite the Constitution’s guarantee of a fair hearing, Sanchez will likely be deported without ever arguing his case.
“This doesn’t mean he’d win or get to stay,” Santorini added. “But he’s entitled to a day in court.”
Cesar Espinosa, director of the advocacy group FIEL, said most migrants comply with the law and attend court in good faith. “They’re trying to do the right thing — following asylum law, showing up to court,” he said.
But ICE’s increasingly aggressive tactics have sparked national outrage. In Los Angeles, a raid near a hardware store targeting undocumented workers led to public protests and clashes, prompting Trump to deploy the National Guard and Marines.
Espinosa criticised the double standards: “People complain about undocumented migrants being here — but not when they’re the ones cleaning homes, picking crops, or holding up the economy.”
