Refugee from Belarus arrested right in the building of immigration court in Minnesota

The son of a political refugee from Belarus who came to the United States to reunite with his father was arrested as he left a courthouse and told he was subject to expedited removal from the country. This is the new strategy of the Department of Homeland Security, writes NPR.

Photo: Sornwut Tubtawee | Dreamstime.com

Vadim Bulat, a native of Belarus who was granted political asylum in the United States for his opposition activities against longtime President Alexander Lukashenko, attended an immigration court hearing in Minnesota last month.

It was the first court hearing for his eldest son, Alexander Bulat. Alexander came to the United States in May 2024 to reunite with his father. He applied for asylum through an app formerly called CBP One, which allowed migrants to schedule appointments at official ports of entry.

On the subject: Immigration officers asked to take part in deportations, although they are supposed to deal with legal migrants

The purpose of the first hearing was to ask the court for more time so that the lawyer could link Alexander's petition to his father's case. However, neither Vadim nor his son had time to present their request to the judge.

During a hearing in May, Vadim said, a lawyer representing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) moved to dismiss the case.

"I understood the prosecutor's words to mean that the case was closed and we were free," Vadim recalls. He had no idea that this would turn out to be a legal trick.

Father and son left the courthouse believing their cases would now be consolidated. But they were met at the exit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. They handcuffed Alexander and informed him that he was subject to expedited deportation within three days.

Alexander spent several weeks in the Freeborn County Adult Detention Center. His attorney is trying to stop his deportation to a country where his father says he will be sent immediately to prison.

He was one of more than 3000 people detained in immigration courts across the country under a new ICE strategy that calls for up to XNUMX arrests daily.

The Department of Homeland Security's tactics of first dismissing cases and then detaining migrants right outside the courthouse initially stunned judges and lawyers.

The Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees immigration courts and is part of the Justice Department, explained this approach to judges in a letter dated May 30.

It's one of several measures the Trump administration is using to speed up the processing of cases and more quickly remove people who have no legal right to be in the United States.

The tactic appears to be paying off: Last week, the administration reported two days in which more than 2000 people were detained nationwide, the highest since Trump took office, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

“This strategy is designed to bypass the justice system, deny people their right to a fair hearing, and remove as many people as quickly as possible without regard for the rule of law,” said Greg Chen, director of government affairs for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

In response to questions about the new practice, ICE said most people who entered the U.S. illegally in the past two years are subject to expedited deportation.

"ICE, in accordance with the law, places these aliens into expedited removal proceedings, as they should be," agency officials said.

Not everyone targeted by this tactic entered the country illegally, however. Those who arrived through the CBP One app during the Biden administration were granted temporary permission to remain in the U.S., which was later revoked by Trump.

Changing Practices

In a May 30 letter to court leaders, EOIR noted that the courts’ caseloads had increased significantly in recent months. To reduce the backlog of cases, judges were advised to dismiss cases immediately in the courtroom — without giving migrants the standard ten days to appeal.

Veronica Cardenas, who previously served as assistant general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security under three presidents, including Trump’s first term, explained that a motion to dismiss a case in immigration court used to be considered a favorable development, meaning the case was removed from the docket and the migrant could seek other avenues to avoid deportation, such as filing for asylum.

“Now, dismissing a case makes it worse for migrants because ICE officers are waiting for them outside the courthouse with handcuffs,” said Cardenas, now a practicing immigration attorney in New Jersey.

Under the new approach, migrants are detained after their cases are closed, sometimes without even being allowed to leave the courthouse, as happened to Alexander Bulat. They are then transferred to expedited removal proceedings — an expedited deportation without a guaranteed right to trial and a five-year ban on re-entry into the United States.

In the first days of implementing the strategy in late May, ICE detained hundreds of people in immigration courts, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Advocates first noticed the practice in 14 cities, and in recent weeks it has spread to other states and courts, including Boston, New York and Northern Virginia.

Laura Rees, director of the Heritage Foundation's Center on Border and Immigration Security, a think tank, said the new policy is consistent with Trump's goals of mass deportation by helping the courts reduce the backlog of cases, which now total about four million.

Rees noted that the strategy could encourage detained migrants to agree to leave the country voluntarily to avoid a lengthy fight for their rights.

“Being detained becomes a factor that influences the migrant’s decision on further actions,” she explained. “We cannot rule out the possibility of voluntary departure.”

But immigration lawyers say the practice deprives people of a full trial. Cardenas says it leaves migrants open to arrest or deportation even if they follow the proper procedures to remain in the U.S.

Migrants who fail to appear for scheduled hearings risk a final deportation order, a policy Cardenas believes punishes those who acted within the law.

"This administration is sowing fear because the rules are changing daily and there is no certainty about the future," she concluded.

Return to repression

Alexander Bulat continues to fight deportation. He is assisted by lawyer Malinda Schmiechen, who also represents his father.

"My client is a clean criminal. He applied for asylum," Schmiechen said. "He is currently in county jail and will likely spend a considerable amount of time there."

This week, she managed to convince a judge to reopen Alexander's case, meaning his deportation is on hold for now, although he remains in custody. The case has returned to the normal proceedings it was in before his arrest.

Vadim Bulat regularly communicates with his son. Alexander says he is in an overcrowded cell with 30 other people, where the lights are not turned off and walks in the fresh air are prohibited.

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Since moving to the United States in 2022, Vadim says he has generally felt welcome. His family has adapted well, learning to smile and say hello to strangers. They live in the small town of Otsego, Minnesota.

“We are happy to be in America, because this country is amazingly hospitable to immigrants,” he emphasized. “Nowhere in the world would we feel so at home.”

However, despite his legal status, Vadim now worries about himself, his wife and his younger sons. He fears for the fate of his eldest son.

"I fled one dictatorship," he concluded. "And I would not like to face another one - in America."

Read also on ForumDaily:

The Trump administration is deporting people to countries other than their home countries, often without warning.

Immigrants are being arrested in front of courthouses where they come to have their cases heard: cases are being closed and people are being deported

How the US deports migrants: a long and fast-track deportation process

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