Dec 07, 2025
3 min read
The couple entered a federal building in San Diego this month for green card interviews, believing their future together in the United States would be secure.Stephen Paul, an American, arrived with his British wife and their four-month-old child.Audrey Hestmark, an American, arrived with her German husband, days before their first wedding anniversary.Jason Cordero, an American, with his Mexican wife.
This should have been a milestone worth celebrating, the final step in the process of obtaining permanent residency in the United States.Instead, as soon as each interview with immigration officials ended, federal agents swooped in, handcuffed the foreign spouse and whisked her away.
"I had to pull my son out of my crying wife's arms," Paul said, recalling 33 officers who arrested his wife.
Katie Paul was sent to a closed immigration detention center that has held hundreds of people during the Trump administration.Her husband had to take time off from his job at the San Diego County Sheriff's office to take care of their son and try to get him released.
"It's crazy that they're tearing our family apart," Stephen Paul said."Whoever is running this has completely lost touch with their mission for the country."
In recent weeks, immigration lawyers in many cities have seen more in the arrest of American couples during dating and immigration and immigration.The person was arrested by the President's Flight against the attacks coming from Africa.
After Afghani Afigrrant Afigrrant was arrested for killing a natural person and wounded another person he promised to follow 19 people from the banned country.
In San Diego alone, immigration attorneys in the region are estimated to have 12 spouses who have been exposed since Nov.
Knighter, past president of the San Diego chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the figure is based on communications from members about their clients.The exact number of spouses arrested is unclear because many couples attend routine interviews without lawyers to alert their colleagues.The government does not release the total number of such arrests.
In all cases, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents told the applicants they had overstayed their tourist or business visas.An arrest warrant, reviewed by The New York Times, says there is "probable cause to believe" the named husband "may be removed from the United States."
"Seizures at the U.S. Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services can occur if a person is identified because they have an outstanding warrant; they are subject to a pending warrant; they are subject to a pending warrant; they are subject to a pending warrant or other violation of immigration law in the United States," said Matthew Trageser, a spokesman for the agency.
But the couples and their lawyers said they followed the necessary steps.They submitted extensive documentation and paid fees.The foreign spouses were fingerprinted and medically examined.None of them had a criminal record.None of them had entered the country illegally.They had already received a work permit.
Johanna Keamy said: “Due process is exactly what they do,” she said."What's next? Do you distribute green cards to millions of people who take these steps?"
Temporary visas for green card applicants often expire, while "adjustment of status" takes months or longer.
An immigration law passed by Congress in 1986 allowed a spouse who entered the country legally to qualify for a married green card, even if the individual's visa had expired.
Although federal law does not prohibit the detention and deportation of spouses of long-term visa holders, in the past they were rarely detained when applying for a green card.The Trump administration is making these arrests without announcing a change in policy.
The recent wave of arrests comes amid a reorganization of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) leadership, including the San Diego region, aimed at speeding up and improving the president's agenda.
Typically, foreign spouses of Americans are granted permanent residence in the United States during or shortly after an in-person interview.
On November 20, Austrey ID to the government department in San Diego and Thomas Bilger, whose husband, hopes to receive their wedding card and first dates on November 20.
Bilger, a robotics engineer, met and fell in love with Hestmark on his business trips from Germany.After dating for four years, they married on November 22, 2024. "Tom was so excited to become a U.S. citizen that he insisted on a cowboy-style wedding," said Hestmark, a registered nurse.
He immediately hired a lawyer and collected documents from Germany and the United States to support his plea.In the interview, he added the necessary evidence that the marriage was valid - photos of a vacation with his parents in Hawaii;rental agreements, bank statements and utility bills in both your names;and other documents.
The officer asked the usual questions.But until, according to Hestmark, it was if her husband had overstayed his visa.He answered carefully and borrowed the lawyer's promise that this was not a problem.
"Suddenly we were ambushed by three masked men with bulletproof vests and guns who told Tom that they had a warrant for his arrest and that he was here illegally," Hestmark recalled.
The agents handcuffed her husband, gave him a card with a QR code to the ICE website and took him away.He didn't hear from her again until the next day.He was moved between a basement in downtown San Diego and an immigration detention center, where he lives.
Some American citizens, lawyers, asked for actions such as the release of their spouses, to post bail.Once released, foreign spouses must try to obtain green cards through years of immigration court proceedings by judges.
Nieter, the immigration lawyer, said the government's strategy appeared to encourage couples to "give up and abandon their cases and accept the deportation of the foreign spouse."
Jason Cordero, a Mexican woman with Mexican citizenship, is said to be seriously ill and is being threatened in prison.
The cutter comes from a humble background and has worked two jobs this year after getting married earlier.The couple recently moved from the studio to a joint residence in Oceans, Calif., he said.
"Little by little, we're making progress," said Coreero, who works for a beverage and fast-food chain distribution company.Three agents took Ludmila Cordero into custody because she was waiting for a visa, she started crying, according to the interviewer, according to Jason Cordero.
Ice Scens left her husband and her with a small brown bag.gave to her husband.Jason said: "I was shocked. We tried to be respectful because of everything we saw in the refugee news.
Katie and Stepheben Paul met the game platform more than two years ago.Their fans fell in love, and she visited him several times under the visa-free program under British citizens, which allows him to stay for up to three months at a time.She joined his family on a trip to Japan, and the couple got married in October.Two days later, they found out she was pregnant with Alan, now 4 months.
They applied for green cards in July.An interview this month was going well, he said, until three ice agents walked in and announced that Katie Paul, who was holding her child, was being held.
Their lawyer, Keamy, who attended by phone, protested by saying that this had never happened before.He said: “I was completely surprised.”"I'm paralyzed."
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