DHS Officials Say Massive Deportation Raids Will Start This Weekend; More than 2,000 Undocumented Immigrants, Including Families, Targeted

By Anne Branigin, TheRoot.com

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 11: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), officers prepare for morning raids to arrest undocumented immigrants on April 11, 2018 in New York City. ICE detentions are frequently controversial in New York, considered a “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants, and ICE receives little or no cooperation from local law enforcement. ICE said that officers arrested 225 people for violation of immigration laws during the 6-day operation, the largest in New York City in recent years. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Department of Homeland Security officials have told the New York Times that mass arrests of undocumented immigrants will hit at least 10 U.S. cities on Sunday. The Donald Trump-sanctioned operation had been postponed weeks ago, though the president recently hinted that immigration raids would begin soon.

After a massive public outcry—and pushback from officials within his own administration—Trump called off the scheduled raids, putting the onus on Congress to come up with a comprehensive immigration plan.

From the Times:

The raids, which will be conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement over multiple days, will include “collateral” deportations, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the preliminary stage of the operation. In those deportations, the authorities might detain immigrants who happened to be on the scene, even though they were not targets of the raids.

The raids are expected to begin on Sunday, with more than 2,000 undocumented immigrants being targeted by the agency. The Times, citing DHS officials, writes that the goal of the operation is a “show of force to deter families from approaching the southwestern border.”

ICE spokesperson Matthew Bourke emailed USA Today a statement that neither confirmed nor denied the raid plan, citing the safety and security of ICE personnel.

But Bourke acknowledged that, while the agency stated its primary focus is on immigrants with criminal records, any undocumented immigrant could face being detained (this reinforces the Times’ reporting of “collateral” arrests).

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