ICE stopped my wife at LAX and gave her an appointment. Has anyone experienced something similar?
Hi everyone,
Two days ago, ICE officers stopped my wife at LAX while she was flying to Texas with our minor child.
We entered the US legally on B2 visas and have been waiting for our asylum interview for six years.
When ICE approached her, they immediately asked, "Do you have asylum pending?" She confirmed that she did. They checked something on their tablet and then told her, "Okay, go ahead, you're going to miss your flight." But before letting her go, they gave her a paper requiring her to appear at an ICE office on October 13 with her immigration documents.
She is currently in Texas with our child and will be flying back to California before the appointment.
I have a few questions:
- Since ICE already stopped her and issued this appointment notice, is there still a risk of being detained at the airport in Texas on her return flight? Would this appointment already be visible in their system?
- Has anyone experienced a similar situation? What usually happens at these ICE appointments? We have no criminal history. Do they typically detain people, or release them with an ankle monitor, a phone app, or regular check-ins?
- Would it make sense for her to attend the appointment with our minor child, since we don't have anyone available to watch the child at that time? We have already arranged authorization for a trusted US citizen to pick up the child if necessary. Does having a child present make any difference in ICE's decision to detain someone?
- If ICE starts removal proceedings against my wife, what happens to our pending asylum application? I'm the principal applicant, and she's included as my derivative spouse. Would her case be separated from mine, or are there other possible outcomes?
I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar, especially those with pending asylum cases.
And please, I'm not looking for comments telling us we should have thought twice before flying. Unfortunately, we didn't have another option. We considered the risks and made our decision. What's done is done, and now we're trying to figure out what comes next.
Thank you for sharing your experiences.