ILRC Staff Witness Heartbreaking Arrest of Family at San Antonio Courthouse
(San Antonio, Texas)—U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents are going to immigration courts nationwide as part of the Trump Administration’s coordinated and unprecedented campaign to terrorize immigrants and undermine their constitutional rights to due process. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) condemns ICE’s attempts to bypass the legal system by intimidating people into missing their court dates, exposing them to the deportation process. People are being forced to decide whether to attend their court hearings and risk arrest or abandon their right to have their cases heard.
ILRC staff witnessed ICE in plain clothes in action at the San Antonio immigration courthouse on Thursday, May 29, 2025. ILRC staff was at the courthouse providing Know Your Rights information to people before they attended their court hearings and witnessed the heartbreaking arrests of several people, including a family with four children—this video can be watched here. These actions traumatized other families there for court hearings.
“As I took the video documenting this unconscionable act, I questioned ICE agents on their authority to apprehend people, including children, who were attending their court hearing,” said ILRC Senior Policy Attorney & Strategist Priscilla Olivarez. “Due process is the cornerstone of our system of democracy and civil society. ICE’s tactics are undermining the right for everyone to have access to our courts, regardless of status.”
The ILRC has continued to stress the rights of all immigrants and recommends consultations with credible immigration attorneys who can help people consider options like asking judges for permission to appear remotely at hearings.
“We also remind all immigrant communities that they are not alone. There are many organizations like the ILRC who can offer support and information,” said Texas Senior Strategist Carolina Canizales. “We want people to be prepared to exercise their rights.”
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The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) is a national nonprofit that works with immigrants, community organizations, legal professionals, and policy makers to build a democratic society that values diversity and the rights of all people. Through community education programs, legal training & technical assistance, and policy development & advocacy, the ILRC works to protect and defend the fundamental rights of immigrant families and communities. Follow us at www.ilrc.org, and @the_ILRC on X (formerly