CALIFORNIA: On a recent afternoon, Giselle Garcia, a volunteer who has been helping an Afghan family resettle, drove the father to a check-in with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She warned him and his family to prepare for the worst.
The moment the father stepped into the ICE office in California’s capital city, he was arrested.
Coming just days after the shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan national suspect, federal authorities have carried out increased arrests of Afghans in the US, immigration lawyers say as Afghans both in and outside the country have come under intense scrutiny by immigration officials.
Garcia said the family she helped had reported to all their appointments and were following all legal requirements.
“He was trying to be strong for his wife and kids in the car, but the anxiety and fear were palpable,” she said. “His wife was trying to hold back tears, but I could see her in the rearview mirror silently crying.”
