by Vernal Coleman

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The Gregorio brothers had just begun their daybreak commute to work assembling wooden pallets in late January when federal officers in SUVs pulled them over in a Chicago suburb. Jhony and Bayron were in one car. A third brother, Marco, was traveling separately, in another car behind them.

After Jhony Gregorio handed over his identification, an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement opened his door and pulled him out. Before long, more than a dozen other officers had arrived. Gregorio could see they had also stopped his brother Marco.

All three had been living and working in the United States without authorization after arriving from Guatemala. None had criminal records. But Bayron Gregorio had received a deportation order. Instead of detaining only him, authorities took all three brothers into custody.

Attempting to fulfill a campaign pledge to deport millions of people, the Trump administration has turned to tactics that have prompted a flurry of court challenges across the country and created an atmosphere of fear. Each week has brought a new example, as agents have detained immigrants and shuttled them out of the country to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Panama; and, most recently, a dangerous prison in El Salvador without hearings, much less opportunities to communicate with lawyers and relatives.

But in Chicago and other cities, there are quieter operations underway that raise similar legal questions as federal agents pick up people in ones, twos and threes.

Lawyers for Jhony and Marco Gregorio are arguing that their........

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