Los Angeles Times

Deportatio­ns revive party split

A recent renewal of Obama administra­tion raids riles Democrats.

- By Lisa Mascaro lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

— President Obama had long endured the “deporter-inAmerica.

chief ” label, shedding it only in 2014 when he used executive action to stop the removal of millions of otherwise law-abiding immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

Then, over the recent holiday season, deportatio­ns began again. In weekend raids, Immigratio­n and Customs Enforcemen­t agents targeted parents and chilWASHIN­GTON dren who had arrived from Central America, reigniting anger at the White House from within his own party.

The swift action, which caught many Democrats offguard, threatens to blur what had been a stark contrast between the party’s position and that espoused by leading Republican presidenti­al candidates, most notably Donald Trump, who proposed tough ways to keep migrants out.

Obama administra­tion officials have said they are stepping up the removal of those who had already been given deportatio­n orders.

All three Democratic presidenti­al candidates have distanced themselves from the White House action. The Congressio­nal Hispanic Caucus is demanding an audience with Obama.

Democrats on Capitol Hill conveyed their anger during a private session hosted by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and administra­tion officials last week in the Capitol. One leading lawmaker, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (DIll.), held a protest Friday outside the White House.

“We’re upset,” Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-Whittier), chairwoman of the Congressio­nal Hispanic Caucus, said in an interview. “I don’t know who was advising that this was a smart move to make at the holidays. … Parents are keeping kids home from school, many are not going to work or are afraid to even leave the house to buy groceries. They’re literally tearing apart families.”

The administra­tion, though, has made it clear there will be no immediate slowdown of the operation that resulted in the apprehensi­on of 121 adults and children last weekend.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledg­ed “the reality of the pain” the removals cause families. But he framed the operation as part of a broader strategy, announced with Obama’s executive action in 2014, to prevent another surge of unaccompan­ied migrant children from Central In the summer of 2014, an unpreceden­ted 68,000 unaccompan­ied minors from mostly Central American countries showed up at the southern border, overwhelmi­ng authoritie­s. The new raids are focusing on parents and children who arrived that year.

A large number of families illegally crossed the border from Mexico last fall, setting off worries of a new influx in 2016.

“This should come as no surprise,” Johnson said in a lengthy statement last week. “I have said publicly for months that individual­s who constitute enforcemen­t priorities, including families and unaccompan­ied children, will be removed.”

The tough move, though, threatens to erode the goodwill that Obama’s executive actions created among the Latino and immigrant community after years of rising deportatio­ns under his administra­tion.

Many Democrats view the Central Americans not as immigrants but refugees fleeing violence in Honduras and elsewhere, most recently El Salvador, where gang violence has flared. The two countries have rivaled for having the world’s highest homicide rate.

Democrats have also criticized the federal family detention facilities along the border that serve as holding facilities while migrants await hearings or deportatio­n, calling the centers unsuitable for children.

Presidenti­al candidate Hillary Clinton “believes the United States should give refuge to people fleeing persecutio­n, and should be especially attentive to the needs of children,” said campaign spokeswoma­n Xochitl Hinojosa. “She believes we should not be conducting large-scale raids and roundups that sow fear and division in our communitie­s.”

In a letter to Obama on Thursday, another top Democratic contender, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, said he was “extremely disappoint­ed” in the action and urged the White House to provide temporary protection to the migrants.

“These raids contravene President Obama’s directive to ‘more humanely’ enforce our nation’s immigratio­n laws,” Sanders wrote.

As part of its broader strategy, the Department of Homeland Security has beefed up Border Patrol operations and cracked down on smuggling and traffickin­g rings. Congress approved $750 million in aid to the Central American nations as part of the yearend budget deal to improve the underlying problems of poverty and public safety that cause many families to flee.

Though many of the raids have been underway in southeaste­rn states, California’s lawmakers have taken a particular interest in the issue.

At a Friday news conference, Rep. Norma Torres (DPomona), an immigrant and the first Guatemalan American elected to Congress, urged restraint and a focus on deporting criminals.

 ?? Michael Reynolds European Pressphoto Agency ?? REP. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ (D-Ill.) leads a rally outside the White House last week denouncing the deportatio­n of immigrant parents and children. The Congressio­nal Hispanic Caucus is demanding an audience with President Obama.
Michael Reynolds European Pressphoto Agency REP. LUIS V. GUTIERREZ (D-Ill.) leads a rally outside the White House last week denouncing the deportatio­n of immigrant parents and children. The Congressio­nal Hispanic Caucus is demanding an audience with President Obama.

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