ICE Expands the Scope of Detentions: Families With Children Who Have No Violations and Were Previously Allowed to Enter the U.S. Are No Longer Safe.

In this article, we describe an alarming trend in which ICE is detaining foreign nationals who have committed no violations, are fully complying with all court and ICE requirements, entered the U.S. through proper channels after inspection and admission, and are calmly preparing their cases for court consideration within the time limits established by law.

This is happening even when the foreign national is the primary breadwinner for the family—a spouse and children—including, as practice shows, cases where children require round-the-clock care due to medical conditions.

Below, we provide an example from our practice in Minnesota, without naming names, where ICE effectively pulled the family’s breadwinner out of the household, leaving two children and their mother without any means of support. We also briefly explain what, in practice, can be done to move a case forward if this happens to you.

Changes in ICE Detention Policy.

At the beginning of December 2025, the category of individuals most likely to be arrested and placed in detention was generally quite narrow. Primarily, these were single men without families or children who had committed some form of violation—at the state, federal, or immigration level—or who entered the country on parole, which allowed them to be held without bond.

Of course, there were many exceptions...

Moreover, foreign nationals with children—regardless of whether those children were born in the United States or not—as well as individuals caring for sick relatives, were almost never detained, even when they had serious criminal histories. In our practice, there are cases involving significant criminal records, and those individuals are still not being detained.

Nevertheless, the situation is changing, and as often happens in the United States, it is changing in an extreme form.

In mid-December 2025, our office urgently agreed to represent a family in which the husband—a worker at a rehabilitation facility in Minneapolis who supported people in need, and the father of two daughters aged 3 and 5, one of whom requires constant care—was detained by ICE without any warning.

He had not violated any laws, immigration rules, or court orders and had done nothing at all to draw attention to himself. He continued preparing his case for a merits hearing in court while simultaneously adapting to life in a new country. At the time of detention, he had been in the United States for three years, but a hearing date had not yet been scheduled.

The detention occurred early on a Sunday morning, when the client stepped outside to warm up his car in order to go to work and help patients. His wife and children were left at liberty.

Unfortunately, we did not have time to prepare a federal order preventing transfer to another jurisdiction, and the client was very quickly sent to a detention facility in Louisiana—one of the harshest and most unfavorable locations.

Despite the serious problems caused by the arrest, the complete absence of any violations, and a substantively strong case, ICE refused to release the client. Bond through an immigration judge was also unavailable because the client had entered the country on parole.

Consequences.

All of this led to extremely severe consequences for the family that remained at liberty.

The family effectively lost its sole breadwinner. The husband worked at a facility caring for people with disabilities, and his income made it possible to cope with the sharply increased cost of living in Minneapolis.

At the same time, the mother can no longer work at all, even part-time, because she is the sole caregiver for two young children, one of whom is seriously ill and requires constant, round-the-clock care. Such care involves not only continuous presence but also significant financial expenses: the child has already undergone several surgeries.

The family had some savings, but they are being depleted quickly. If the situation is not resolved within a few months, there is a high likelihood that the family will be forced to leave the United States.

At the same time, they effectively have nowhere to go. The husband was previously connected to the aviation industry in the country of persecution, and if he returns, he will almost certainly face renewed persecution. In the United States, the family has no relatives or other support—they are entirely dependent on their own efforts and the help of friends.

In all our years of practice, we have seen many difficult situations, but this case is something new.

Analysis of the Situation

In essence, all of this amounts to a form of coercion. It is absolutely obvious that the mother and two young daughters left at liberty will not be able to survive for a long time without the primary breadwinner, and ICE cannot fail to understand this. The chances of winning a case while in detention are also significantly lower—this will be the subject of a separate video.

Therefore, in situations like this, there is a high risk that foreign nationals are effectively being forced to leave on their own, wherever they can...

In our case, we hope this will not happen. Rushing through every possible avenue, we managed to advance the case and, through relatives remaining in Russia, collect evidence of persecution for our client while he is in detention.

The conclusion is that no one is protected anymore, and it is entirely obvious that as detainees leave detention facilities and new bed space becomes available, ICE will take everyone it can find. We remind readers that many people are leaving in large numbers—some depart on their own without waiting for court, others after a negative decision.

What Can Be Done?

First, be prepared for such a turn of events. In practice, this means that you must be ready to present your case quickly and already from detention. Prepare a detailed declaration and properly completed forms. Gather evidence. Prepare country condition reports. Find experts. Do everything necessary to be ready for court. Doing all of this from detention is significantly more difficult and often simply impossible.

Remember: even if you have an attorney, YOU must make sure that you are ready. The rescue of the drowning is the responsibility of the drowning themselves. If you do not have representation, try to find an attorney on standby who is ready to take the case if necessary.

Searching for a lawyer from detention is extremely difficult, and in practice, if you are not prepared, you will most likely lose your case.

If detention has occurred, your choices are, frankly, very limited. You can try to obtain release on bond—through ICE, through an immigration judge, or through a federal court order, if you can afford it. The result depends on the details of your entry and your life in the United States. In the near future, we will record a separate video on this topic, but in general, the situation is such that the absolute majority of people placed in detention remain there until their hearing.

As alternatives, you can try to expedite the court process—which will already be accelerated—and complete the entire proceeding more quickly. However, this is possible only if you are truly ready for the hearing. If not, you can ask for time, but do not expect to receive much of it—detention hearings move quickly, and as practice shows, time in detention does not help much. Finally, if such an option exists, you can attempt self-deportation. Today, both the courts and ICE are willing to agree to this.

Conclusion

In conclusion, unfortunately, this situation is not unique. Through our colleagues, we have learned of several other similar cases. Although, overall, they are not numerous, the trend is alarming. That is all. We wish everyone good luck, and a Happy New Year.

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