ICE raids called ‘extremely troubling’
President Trump’s reported decision to move ahead with nationwide ICE raids, targeting recent arrivals including migrant families and those with final deportation orders is “extremely troubling,” area immigration-rights advocates said Thursday.
Trump postponed the operation in late June, but now it appears the sweep could begin this weekend in 10 major cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Miami, according to news reports.
Boston is not on the list, but local advocates remain concerned.
“This is extremely troubling,” said Eva Millona, executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. “It institutionalizes destruction and fear.
“How many millions of taxpayer dollars are being used to terrorize families?” she added. “Children will be traumatized by agents storming their homes and taking their parents away.”
Trump announced on Twitter last month that the sweep would mark the beginning of a push to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally.
Then he abruptly canceled the operation after a phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while lawmakers worked to pass a $4.6 billion border aid package that recently was approved. Trump started hinting anew in recent days that more removals were coming. He said last weekend they would be starting “fairly soon.”
In response to the impending ICE raid, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Melrose) on Thursday wrote on Twitter: “Mr. President, arresting babies doesn’t make the U.S. safer. It makes you evil.”
Meanwhile, activists ramped up efforts to prepare by handing out know-yourrights pocket guides, circulating information about hotlines and planning public demonstrations. Vigils outside of detention centers and other hundreds of locations nationwide were set for Friday evening, including at 7 p.m. on the steps of the State House in Boston.
“We’re very concerned for the safety of our immigrant brothers and sisters, and the security of their families,” said Leah Bloom, one of the organizers for Friday’s Boston Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Detention Camps.
She said the candlelight vigil will bring people together to honor the memories of those who have died fleeing to the United States and in Customs and Border Patrol custody — and also to “protest the inhumane conditions faced by refugees.”