"They flat out lie to people": Fresno immigration attorney describes ICE tactics

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Fresno migration lawyer spoke candidly astir the methods he's seen migration officials employment against his clients.

"They volition lie. I mean, they level retired prevarication to people," said Attorney George Rios.

"They number connected radical being uninformed. They number connected radical being afraid," helium added.

Rios gave america an thought of the existent authorities of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services meetings present successful the Central Valley.

The interviews typically impact migration benefits, specified arsenic ineligible imperishable residency done a spouse oregon naturalization.

But now, Rios says, behind-the-scenes conversations are starring to astonishment detainments.

"The mode that it works is the serviceman who's conducting the interrogation has reviewed the lawsuit up of time, and they've determined that the lawsuit wherever crystal mightiness privation to detain someone," Rios explained.

The lawsuit sits there, believing they're doing the close happening and fulfilling their ineligible duty.

Meanwhile, Rios says the serviceman is relaying accusation to their supervisor, who is successful nonstop interaction with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"At that point, the serviceman volition measurement out, and past the supervising serviceman with the 2 ICE agents volition past locomotion into the interrogation and detain somebody," Rios said.

UC Merced Sociology prof Daisy Reyes tells Action News the maneuver is troubling.

"There's an knowing that determination was respect for the regularisation of law. And these individuals are coming, and they bash not expect the US authorities to alteration the rules connected them successful the mediate of the proceeding," Reyes said.

And conscionable this week, the Department of Justice admitted to a national justice that it has been wrongly relying connected an ICE memo to warrant arrests astatine migration courts.

In response, the DOJ apologized, penning successful part, the memo,

"does not and has ne'er applied to civilian migration enforcement actions successful oregon adjacent the Executive Office for Immigration Review migration courts."

But the department, besides defending its jurisdiction, writing,

"There is nary alteration successful policy. We volition proceed to apprehension amerciable aliens astatine migration courts pursuing their proceedings. It is communal consciousness to instrumentality them into custody pursuing the completion of their removal proceedings. Nothing prohibits arresting a lawbreaker wherever you find them."

And Rios is encouraging anyone going done migration proceedings to amended themselves connected the process and prosecute an migration lawyer arsenic soon arsenic possible.