The White House is reopening immigration cases closed decades ago.

Immigration lawyers told NY1 TV channelthat the government is trying to reopen old, long-closed immigration cases.

Michael Wilds remembers that Zoom call with his clients well. Six now-adult children, whose parents were facing deportation, listened attentively to his advice.

“I explained to them: one of you needs to go serve in the army,” he said.

According to Wilds, this would make it possible to obtain what is known as parole in place – a “permit to stay.”

"In this case, the parents of a child serving in the military are formally granted legal grounds for staying in the country," the lawyer explained.

On the subject: The Trump administration is firing immigration judges en masse despite a shortage.

The reason his clients' children are now considering this step is because the government is trying to reopen their cases. As Wilds explained, the case of his clients—a retired bus driver and a cleaner—was previously administratively closed.

This means that, by mutual agreement of the attorneys representing the U.S. government and the foreign national, proceedings were stayed while the individual sought a specific immigration status, such as a green card through children.

"President Donald Trump is trying to scare the living daylights out of everyone," Wilds concluded, noting that he believes the U.S. government's actions are unlawful.

Another foreigner from China also obtained administrative closure of his case about ten years ago in order to obtain a green card. His wife already has the card, and he has three adult children who are U.S. citizens, his lawyer, Ed Cuccia, told NY1.

The human rights activist said the government is now petitioning to reopen the case.

He said there are cases where the government does have grounds to reopen cases, such as if a foreigner is making too slow progress in obtaining status.

"Of the approximately 35 cases I've received so far, maybe two or three people simply failed to act," he stated. "They should have filed documents, but they didn't."

However, Cuccia emphasized that the vast majority are still in the process of obtaining status, including his client from China, whom he identified only by his last name, Chen.

Chen, who has lived in the United States for many years and works as a chef, has been applying for and going through all the steps to obtain a green card for several years now. The process, according to Cucci, is still ongoing.

"I've been practicing immigration law for 35 years and I've never seen this before," Cuccia admitted. "It's completely illogical."

He named two main reasons for the absurdity of this situation.

First, since the government is trying to reopen Chen's case, this blocks any attempts to obtain a green card. A foreign national cannot be in deportation proceedings and simultaneously apply for a green card, the lawyer explained.

Secondly, due to the hundreds of thousands of cases that have formed a massive backlog in New York's immigration court, Chen will likely have to wait many years for a hearing. According to the human rights activist, by then, Chen could already have received a green card.

"This simply destabilizes the work of the court without any particular justification," Kuchcha concluded.

It's impossible to track how many cases are being reopened across the country. However, several lawyers told NY1 that they, too, are seeing similar cases.

Some believe immigration judges will not comply with the government's demands. But in any case, this wastes the judges' precious time.

A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said the administration adheres to the rule of law.

"The Biden administration has decided to release millions of undocumented immigrants, including criminals, into the country and has used prosecutorial discretion to indefinitely defer their cases and allow them to remain in the United States illegally," said Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of state for the Department of Homeland Security. "In reality, the average undocumented immigrant receives far more due process protections than most Americans. Those in our country illegally have a choice: leave voluntarily or face arrest and deportation."

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Immigration lawyers say the letters they receive can be nearly identical. This, according to attorney David Katona, is unacceptable.

He stressed that each reopened case must be considered individually.

"There are practical guidelines governing the operation of immigration courts," he concluded. "None of these procedures were followed."

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