People camp out overnight outside Orlando immigration office due to long lines

ORLANDO, Fla. — People in search of immigration services in Orlando say they have no choice but to wait in long lines for hours.

On Thursday, more than 100 people were waiting outside the ICE immigration office in Orlando. After the office closed for the day, many people remained camped out with chairs, tents and umbrellas so they don’t lose their spots in line.

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Phong Le is from Vietnam, but has lived in the U.S. most of his life. He said this is the first time his annual, five-minute immigration checkup took multiple days to complete.

“Yesterday I waited for several hours and once I made it to the top of the line they shut the line down. No more people can come in, come back tomorrow,” he said.

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Yanika Martinez Guerrero, who arrived in the U.S. from Cuba 15 days ago, said she’s spent two nights outside the office trying to be seen for her appointment.

Some believe the lines are caused by a backlog due to offices closing during the pandemic, but ICE would not confirm that.

Photos: People camp out outside Orlando immigration office due to long lines

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Orlando immigration office lines On Thursday, more than 100 people were waiting outside the ICE immigration office in Orlando. (WFTV Staff)

You can read the agency’s statement below:

“Noncitizens that recently were apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southwest border and given a notice to report (NTR) or parole must check-in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after arriving at their destination. Noncitizens must appear in-person for their initial ICE appointment. For those noncitizens who were recently apprehended by U.S Customs and Border Protection along the southwest border, we encourage them, to confer with the ICE Check-in criteria, and make an appointment using the ICE Appointment Scheduler. The ICE Appointment Scheduler allows ICE to process noncitizens more efficiently as they await their immigration proceedings.”

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