In San Diego, approximately 200 immigrants have been unexpectedly detained after attending what they believed were routine check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These individuals are currently being held in the basement of the federal courthouse located downtown.

Legal representatives for some of these migrants have indicated that their clients appeared in court following official summons from ICE, which instructed them to attend for “an official matter.”

According to these attorneys, ICE has been employing this strategy for several weeks, capturing individuals and holding them in the courthouse basement due to a lack of available space at the Otay Mesa Detention Center.

Reports suggest that some of those detained have since been deported back to Mexico.