Pittsburgh woman seeking asylum arrested by ICE agents

The loved ones of a Pittsburgh mother arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents one week ago said they feel helpless as they track her movement from facility to facility on the detainee website.  

Katherine Sanchez-Bonilla, known by her friends as "Kathi," was detained by ICE agents while traveling to Rochester, New York, business owner Nicole Velez told KDKA-TV after speaking with Sanchez-Bonilla's husband. Velez said ICE has moved Sanchez-Bonilla three or four times to different detention centers. She's currently in El Paso, Texas, awaiting a hearing. 

But Velez said the arrest abruptly disrupted Sanchez-Bonilla's pending asylum case. 

"She's an incredibly ethical and conscientious person, so she always talked about doing things the right way," Velez said. "I know she had been working with a lawyer for many years trying to get her papers in line. She had a Real ID, she was paying taxes and managing multiple jobs and going to school."

Nour Chammas, Sanchez-Bonilla's Ohio-based immigration attorney, told KDKA-TV that cases like this are increasingly common. New federal data shows ICE arrested an average of more than 1,580 people a day in July, a new high under the current administration. Only about 4% of those taken into custody in July had previous convictions for violent crimes, according to the federal data. 

Chammas said Sanchez-Bonilla has no criminal record and has a pending asylum application after leaving Costa Rica. 

"People that do have a fear of being in their country due to some form of persecution, or some form of harm that they've either suffered, or that they fear suffering in the future, they have that availability that they can come here and they can file for asylum, which the law allows," Chammas said. 

Since Sanchez-Bonilla is in immigration detention, Chammas said her asylum case will move forward in immigration court. 

"If you have a pending asylum application, even though you do have authorization to remain in the U.S. while the application is pending, they can still pick you up, because technically you don't have status," Chammas said. "So ICE can pick you up and put you through immigration court proceedings, and then you would have to pursue your asylum claim in court."

In a statement to CBS News, the Department of Homeland Security said ICE enforces the law as written, adding, "What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S.— full stop."

Chammas said Sanchez-Bonilla is expected to go before an immigration judge on Thursday. Her 12-year-old son is with family in another city.