ICE arrests some locally as immigrants stay inside
Federal agents detain several at Alief-area apartments, but many wouldn’t answer doors
Immigrants hunkered down in a southwest Houston apartment complex Monday, refusing to open their doors and missing work after federal agents arrested several residents early in the morning. The episode may have been a sign that President Donald Trump’s promised large-scale immigration enforcement had begun in the Houston area.
The raids, which the president said last week would start Sunday and were thought to target thousands of recently arrived families with final deportation orders, did not immediately materialize across the country even as many immigrants locked themselves into their homes and shied away from churches, markets and restaurants.
Rumors of widespread immigration arrests flew widely across social media all weekend, but Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the advocacy group FIEL Houston, said Monday’s enforcement at El Paraiso apartments near Alief was the first confirmed event here since Saturday. Two men were apparently arrested that day.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials declined to comment, citing “law-enforcement sensitivities and the safety and security” of its agents.
About 11 million immigrants live in the United States illegally, and ICE agents periodically perform what the agency terms “targeted enforcement” by arriving at homes and detaining immigrants for deportation.
But the administration framed this opera
tion as different, focusing largely on Central American families who have arrived here in soaring numbers since the fall and promising to arrest thousands. The White House has said that it wants to deter more from coming to the border.
“This administration wants to show the world it is deporting families, that it is not allowing families to stay in the U.S. unauthorized,” said Sarah Pierce, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington D.C. nonprofit.
Instead of the promised show of force, advocates by Monday had reported only a trickle of arrests in a few cities.
Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, insisted more immigrants had been arrested than reports indicated.
“Many, many were taken out on Sunday,” he said. “You just didn’t know about it.”
Advocates and lawyers said that did not appear to be the case so far, but they said they expected heightened activity this week as public focus on the raids waned.
Some ICE officials reportedly were not happy that the president had publicized their operation because it can increase danger for agents. On Saturday, officers killed a man who had previously protested at an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Wash., and returned to the center with a rifle and incendiary devices.
“This series of raids targeting families is not over yet and the community and legal organizations should be prepared to make sure everyone knows what their rights are,” said Greg Chen, head of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Advocates have been preparing for such raids since Trump announced them last month, then post “Imagine, poned action. They have emphasized that immigrants do not need to allow federal agents into their homes unless they can show a warrant signed by a judge. They also do not need to answer questions about where they are from or their legal status.
“It looks like it worked because here people did assert their rights by not letting agents in,” Espinosa said. “Otherwise it could have been many more families arrested.”
Neighbors at the apartments near Beechnut Street and Corporate Drive reported about half a dozen agents with ICE jackets descending on the complex as people were going to work. They knocked on several doors, arresting about six people, though the exact number was uncertain.
Kaylin Garcia was in her car when she recognized the “POLICE ICE” jackets on several agents and snapped a picture, posting it on Facebook and sending it to her neighbors in warning. That photograph made its way to Espinosa and his network of “rapid response” volunteers.
“I wanted my neighbors to be safe,” Garcia said later. “Many people are really afraid.”
She said agents knocked on several doors but most people did not answer.
Residents were still rattled hours later. Many didn’t open their doors. A few clustered in small groups on balconies and in the parking lot, gawking at reporters from a safe distance. you have your whole life here,” said Miguel Angel, 40, who came here from El Salvador more than two decades ago. “Then, in one moment, it’s gone.”
Walter Vanegas, also from El Salvador, said his sister locked herself and her children into their apartment and has refused to come out. He said children took off running when they saw the ICE agents.
“People here are terrified,” he said.
Also Monday, Mexico’s foreign ministry deployed its top official in charge of protecting Mexicans abroad to Houston in preparation for any large-scale immigration enforcement. Julian Escutia was meeting with expatriates, visiting detention centers, and evaluating consular needs, and will travel to Dallas and San Antonio this week.
He said immigration arrests had so far been routine, but consular officials were on the alert. The ministry employs more than 300 lawyers across the United States, most focused on immigration, and contracts widely with nonprofit groups to provide other services. He and Consul General Alicia Kerber urged Mexicans to check the consulate’s website, visit its offices, or call a 24hour hot-line for consular or legal advice: 520-6237874.
“The message is for people to be calm and informed of their rights,” Escutia said.