When one of Virginia immigration attorney Ellennita Hellmer’s clients was detained by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and later deported to El Salvador, he had to leave his daughter and wife in the U.S. Shortly after, he made the decision to come back for his family. He never made it.

“One of my clients was deported—even though he should have won his asylum case—back to El Salvador while his wife and daughter were here in the United States,” Hellmer said. “He tried to come back for his daughter, but he died of thirst and heat in the desert in New Mexico. They found his body all by himself.

Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, deportations similar to that of Hellmer’s client have become commonplace. As of November, ICE has reportedly conducted around 278,000 arrests and 380,000 deportations. More than 4,200 arrests have taken place in Virginia. Detainees are placed in one of the two ICE detention centers in the state: the Farmville Detention Center in Farmville or the Caroline Detention Facility in Bowling Green.

An October report by UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs found that arrests of individuals from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Venezuela rose by 361% after the Trump administration pushed for more ICE enforcement operations. This increase in arrests has been especially prominent in states like Florida, California and Virginia.

The stricter enforcement of immigration regulations comes with more restrictive communication between attorneys and detainees. Some lawyers find it difficult to talk to their clients who aim to receive asylum or prove their citizenship.

“[ICE] is making it harder to communicate with our detained clients, so I have to drive all the way to Farmville to meet with them,” Hellmer said. “A lot more of my clients are detained, and that’s a lot of work.”

The increase in arrests in Virginia has led to a higher workload for immigration attorneys and elevated uncertainty among detainees and their family members, especially regarding court outcomes and appeals.

“My clients come into my office, and they’re just really scared,” Hellmer said. “They will sit there trying to read tea leaves about what’s going to happen to them.”

The limited number of detention centers within each state has led to overcrowding, which some claim results in unsanitary conditions and maltreatment.

“Some of the food [ICE detention centers] are serving inmates has worms in it,” said junior Ellennita Haile, Hellmer’s daughter.

ICE detainees often take their cases to immigration courts, administered by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, but are denied asylum and deported.

Jack*, a former McLean student who graduated in June, witnessed his father’s unwarranted arrest outside their home on May 31. Despite the family legally residing in the U.S., ICE officers detained his father and placed him in the Farmville Detention Center. The rest of the family worked with their immigration attorney until Jack’s father was released on bond on June 16.

“[Inmates] were given a small blanket and a sheet for their bed in a facility that had the air conditioning on all the time and was set to very cold temperatures,” Jack said. “My dad got sick a few times in the three-week period that he was there.”

Since then, Jack’s family has been waiting for a court to decide their legal residency. While Jack’s father had a hearing on Oct. 30, the court postponed the matter and a decision has yet to be made since then on the case.

“There is no way to put it into words, but it is similar to the shock that lasted for part of a month,” Jack said. “[My dad’s arrest] was unreal, and we didn’t believe it truly happened.”