“Follow the Law, Get Arrested Anyway?”

As someone who believes in justice and compassion, I’ve been deeply troubled by the way undocumented immigrants are being treated in the United States. Lately, we’ve been hearing more and more stories of people being arrested at their jobs, or even while showing up to immigration court—just like they were told to. On the surface, this raises a serious question: if someone is following the law and trying to do the right thing, why are they getting punished for it? It feels wrong. It feels like a bait-and-switch. And many people are wondering—is this even legal?

Let’s start with the basics. ICE—Immigration and Customs Enforcement—has the legal authority to arrest people who are in the country without authorization under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), particularly sections 287(a)(2) and 287(g). These laws let ICE arrest someone pretty much anywhere in public if they have probable cause, and they allow ICE to enter into agreements with local law enforcement to help carry out those arrests.

This is what ICE says they’re doing when they show up at workplaces. They're enforcing employment laws, like making sure companies are filling out I‑9 forms correctly, and making sure they’re not hiring people who aren't authorized to work in the U.S. So when ICE conducts these worksite enforcement raids, they’re acting under federal authority—but that doesn’t make it any less terrifying or demoralizing for the workers involved. It disrupts families, wrecks communities, and in many cases, it punishes people who are just trying to earn an honest living.

What’s more disturbing is when ICE arrests people who show up for their court dates—something immigration lawyers actually tell their clients to do. These folks are following the rules, trying to handle their immigration cases the right way, and then they get picked up in the courthouse parking lot. That feels like a setup. But legally, ICE can do it. The courts have upheld that immigration officials can arrest individuals in public places, including outside court buildings. Technically, there’s no law against it.

Still, it raises ethical concerns. It undermines due process, and it sends a chilling message: even if you do the right thing, the system can still turn on you. Immigrants stop showing up to court, afraid they’ll be detained. Victims of crime won’t report what happened, because they fear deportation. And it makes our entire legal system less effective, not more.

All of this isn’t happening by accident. Under former President Donald Trump, the administration set a goal of 3,000 immigration arrests per day—a target that was revealed by internal DHS memos and whistleblower reports. People like Stephen Miller, and DHS officials like then-Secretary Kristi Noem, pushed for aggressive tactics like these. The logic was simple: if you make life hard enough for undocumented immigrants, they’ll leave on their own. It was enforcement-first, no exceptions.

But when you look at it through a moral and biblical lens, it gets even harder to justify. These people aren’t criminals in the way ICE and politicians sometimes make them out to be. Many are mothers, fathers, neighbors, and workers who contribute to our communities. Arresting them at jobs or in court undermines the values of justice and mercy that our faith—and our Constitution—are supposed to uphold.

Is it entrapment? Legally, probably not. Entrapment requires law enforcement to induce someone to commit a crime they wouldn’t have otherwise committed. Showing up to court or to work isn’t a crime—it’s compliance. But it’s a bait-and-switch in spirit, if not in the letter of the law. And that makes it deeply troubling.

The real issue isn’t whether ICE can do these things. It’s whether they should. Just because something is legal doesn’t make it right. If we want a nation that honors justice, we have to ask more than “Is it legal?” We have to ask, “Is it right?” And treating people like criminals for following the rules? That’s not right by any standard of decency.

Sources

U.S. Congress. Immigration and Nationality Act, §287(a)(2), §287(g). 8 U.S.C. §1357.

“ICE Worksite Enforcement Strategy.” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 2018. https://www.ice.gov

Lankford, Kimberly. “Can ICE Arrest People at Court Hearings?” Nolo Legal Encyclopedia, 2023.

Lind, Dara. “Trump’s Plan to Deport 3,000 Immigrants a Day, Explained.” Vox, April 2017.

Sanctuary for Families. “The Chilling Effect of ICE Courthouse Arrests.” Legal Aid News, 2022.

Axios Charlotte. “Fact Check: You Cannot Get a DUI on a Horse in North Carolina.” Nov 12, 2024.

Yale Law Journal. “Legal, but Unjust: Ethics of Civil Immigration Enforcement.” Vol. 132, 2023.