Last week, 29-year-old Jose Alvaro and his wife Ashley were out in Lubbock with their three kids to buy baby formula when a police officer stopped them because there was an issue with their car’s license plate. The road stop has changed the family’s life.
The officer was “really nice and kind” when he approached them and Ashley explained that her husband didn’t speak much English and didn’t have a driver’s license, Ashley remembered. Jose Alvaro, who moved to the U.S. from Central America and does not have legal documents, showed the officer his insurance proof and his visa.
The officer called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ten minutes later, several cars with federal immigration agents arrived behind the patrol car, according to Ashley and her lawyer. Agents surrounded the family’s car and took Jose Alvaro to a holding center for processing.
Inside the car, his 4-year-old son Antonio started crying and asked, “What are they doing?” Ashley mentioned.
Jose Alvaro was going through the difficult and expensive process of registering for a green card. He is now facing expulsion, and his family’s future is uncertain. ICE did not reply to a request for comments.
“I’m really scared,” said Ashley, 22, an American citizen. She asked not to share her last name or her family’s names because she’s worried immigration officials might take action against her husband.
As President Donald Trump starts his plan to address illegal immigration, this situation shows the worries of immigrant rights supporters. They fear that regular encounters with local police could often result in deportation for undocumented individuals who haven’t committed any crimes.
Tom Homan, an immigration adviser to Trump, stated that the administration would focus on foreigners who have criminal records. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that ICE should focus on undocumented individuals who have done terrible things. However, she also noted that anyone who enters the country illegally has broken the law and could be deported under the Trump administration.
“Two things can be true at once,” Leavitt said. “ICE should focus on serious criminals like drug dealers, rapists, and murderers who harm innocent Americans. However, this doesn’t mean that other illegal immigrants should be ignored.”
This situation shows the different ways the Biden and Trump administrations handle immigration enforcement, according to Muzaffar Chishti, who is the head of the Migration Policy Institute at New York University School of Law. During the Biden administration, immigration authorities narrowed their targets to immigrants who committed serious crimes and recent arrivals at the southwest border, while Trump’s recent moves show that “everyone is game,” Chishti said.
“Enforcement is now unpredictable, and anyone can face action,” Chishti said. “Just one incident can create a lot of fear.”
Ashley and the family’s lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said that Jose Alvaro had no criminal record; online court records show no criminal background for him.
In his first week as president, Trump set a daily target for immigration arrests and told federal prosecutors to look into local leaders who challenge his immigration policies. However, this does not require the cops to contact federal agents when they find someone who is undocumented.
State politicians might attempt to change this. On Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that one of his main goals for this legislative session is to make local authorities assist in federal deportation attempts.
Denise Gilman, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin and head of the Immigration Clinic, said, “Many local police in Texas and across the country are eager to work with ICE.” She has helped people in similar situations during Trump’s first term. “The results are really serious for someone who has been living and working in the United States.”
It’s not clear how often Texas cops contact ICE when they stop someone who is undocumented. Some big police departments in Texas had rules about when officers could ask about someone’s legal status or comply with ICE requests to detain someone for removal. This was done to create trust within immigrant communities, encouraging them to report crimes without fear.
The new law Patrick mentioned on Wednesday could be stronger than a 2017 state law that allows local cops to ask people about their legal status. Some towns are more welcoming to undocumented people than others. In Austin, police officers must let a detained person know they don’t have to answer questions about their immigration status before they ask. This week, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said that the Houston cops have not assisted federal agents with deportations.
Lubbock Police Department spokesperson Lt. Brady Cross confirmed that the officer contacted ICE during the traffic stop. He stated that department policy allows officers to choose whether to inform federal officials about certain crimes.
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