Immigrants on high alert fearing deportation

Fear and panic have gripped America’s immigrant community as reports circulate that federal agents have become newly aggressive under President Donald Trump, who campaigned for office with a vow to create a “deportation force”.

Federal officials insist they have not made fundamental changes in enforcement actions, and they deny stopping people randomly at checkpoints or conducting “sweeps”.

Last week the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agency conducted a series of enforcement actions, detaining hundreds of people in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and other cities.

Trump issued an executive order expanding the list of deportation priorities to include any non-citizen who is charged with a criminal offence of any kind, or who is suspected of committing criminal acts or being dishonest with immigration officials. The order gives broader leeway to Ice officers in deciding whether someone poses “a risk to public safety”.

Under the Obama Administration, priority deportees included people who had been convicted of murder and other violent crimes as well as certain drug offences and gang involvement. President Trump is considering issuing new travel ban. He is pushing back on assertions that his border wall would cost more than anticipated. Nordstrom’s sales of Ivanka Trump’s line of clothing and shoes fell by nearly one-third in the past fiscal year, the Wall Street Journal reports. A Gallup poll shows Trump’s disapproval rating is at 53 per cent and approval rating at 41 per cent. Anti-abortion activists held rallies around the US calling for the federal government to cut off payments to Planned Parenthood. The Telegraph reports Trump’s unpopular state visit to Britain could move from London to the Midlands to allow the US President to address a Brexit rally and raise money for veterans.