Jose Trejo Lopez thought the immigration agent had separated him from his brother Josue so the officer could ask more questions during a March check-in in New York City.Jose and Josue, 20 and 19 years old at the time, had been to dozens of Immigration and Customs Enforcement check-ins in the nearly 10 years since they fled El Salvador as children with their mother. The appointments often took all day and sometimes required missing school and final exams. Jose felt embarrassed to tell his teachers and classmates where he was going, but also knew he had to fulfil his immigration obligations and maintain good conduct and his arrest-free record.“You have to follow the law, because when you follow the law things go well, right?” Jose said.That day, Jose heard the rattle of handcuffs. The officer told him not to make a scene. As Josue turned and saw his older brother restrained, a different officer handcuffed him, too.By the time the brothers had walked into ICE’s field office for their 8am appointment, about two months into President Donald Trump’s second administration, rumours were swirling that immigration agents were detaining people at routine immigration check-ins. These appointments are typically for people with pending immigration cases who aren’t considered threats to t …
