Immigration enforcement operation planned for weekend
CHICAGO — The Trump administration is moving forward with a nationwide immigration enforcement operation this weekend targeting migrant families, despite loud opposition from Democrats and questions over whether it’s the best use of resources given the crisis at the border.
The operation had been postponed by President Donald Trump late last month and would target people with final deportation orders, including families whose immigration cases were fasttracked by judges in 10 major cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
It has sparked outrage and concern among immigrantrights advocates and lawmakers.
“Our communities have been in constant fear,” Estela Vara, a Chicagoarea organizer said Thursday at a rally outside the city’s Immigration and Custom Enforcement offices where some activists chanted “Immigration Not Deportation!”
The sweep remains in flux and could begin this weekend or later, according to two administration officials, who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Still, the American Civil Liberties Union preemptively filed a lawsuit Thursday in an attempt to protect asylum seekers.
Meanwhile, activists ramped up efforts to prepare by bolstering knowyourrights 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, to be followed by protests Saturday in Miami and Chicago.
The operation is similar to ones conducted regularly since 2003 that often produce hundreds of arrests. It is slightly unusual to target families, as opposed to immigrants with criminal histories, but it’s not unprecedented. The Obama and Trump administrations have targeted families in previous operations.
But this latest effort is notable because of the politics swirling around it.
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, a nearimpossibility given the limited resources of ICE, which makes the arrests and carries out deportation orders.
Then he abruptly canceled the operation after a phone call with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, while lawmakers worked to pass a $4.6 billion border aid package . Plus, details had leaked, and authorities worried about the safety of ICE officers.
The agency said in a statement that it would not discuss specifics about enforcement operations.
“As always, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of unlawfully present aliens who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security,” according to the statement.