ICE arrests of Afghans are on the rise in the wake of National Guard attack, immigration lawyers say

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — On a recent afternoon, Giselle Garcia, a volunteer who has been helping an Afghan family resettle, drove the father to a check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She warned him and his family to prepare for the worst.

The moment the father stepped into the ICE office in California’s capital city, he was arrested.

Coming just days after the shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan national suspect, federal authorities have carried out increased arrests of Afghans in the U.S., immigration lawyers say as Afghans both in and outside the country have come under intense scrutiny by immigration officials.

They had fled Afghanistan under threat by the Taliban because the wife’s father had assisted the U.S. military, and they had asked for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border, Garcia said. She is not identifying him or his family for fear other members could be arrested.