San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Deportation sweep on hold for 2 weeks
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is delaying a nationwide sweep to deport people living in the U.S. illegally.
Hours after defending the raids planned for today in major cities, the president said in a tweet Saturday that he’d delay them for two weeks to give lawmakers time to discuss border solutions.
“If not, Deportations start!” he warned.
Three administration officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the operation had been canceled because details had leaked in the media and officer safety could be jeopardized.
The operation would have targeted people with final orders of removal, including 2,000 families whose immigration cases had been fast-tracked by judges.
Trump earlier this week tweeted that an operation was upcoming and said the agency would begin to remove “millions” of people.
He anticipated “some cities are going to fight it,” but claimed the resistance was from sanctuary communities, which, along with some states, have policies aimed at protecting undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Reports that ICE planned to conduct largescale enforcement actions prompted pushback from Democratic leaders in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Newark, and New York, who condemned the actions and
launched efforts to aid residents. A handful of major metropolitan police departments have also announced they will not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
In addition to these mayors, civil and immigration rights organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and National Immigration Law Center have been publicizing the rights that undocumented people have in the event they are stopped or visited by law enforcement.
While cities must comply with federal law enforcement, their leaders can use their platform to educate residents about what to do if federal law enforcement approaches them, said David Leopold, an immigration attorney and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
“Nobody’s trying to stand in the way of law enforcement, but what mayors can do is make sure that their citizens, their constituents know their rights,” he said.
For police departments, cooperation with immigration officials could weaken communities’ trust in police and make it more difficult, Leopold said.
He added that local authorities may not be trained in the nuances of immigration law and the rights that undocumented people have.
“I think it’s a wise move for a mayor or a chief of police to be extremely cautious and stay away from ICE enforcement operations,” he said. “Let ICE do their job — they’re the ones who are trained.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, DCalif., in a statement Saturday described the planned raids as “heartless” and said religious leaders should “call upon the president to stop this brutal action which will tear families apart and inject terror into our communities.”
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner issued a statement declaring that “unconfirmed reports” that his city would be targeted “have created a great deal of anxiety for some and it proves once again this country needs comprehensive immigration reform.”
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed it was aware of the raids and wouldn’t participate.
Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Twitter that his administration was “doing everything we can to provide immigrant families with info and support ahead of the announced ICE deportation sweeps.”
In a tweet addressed to the president, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said residents “won’t be divided by a sick plot to tear families apart and force immigrants into the shadows,” while the mayor of nearby Newark, Ras Baraka, joined other urban mayors from around he state in calling the raids “racist, bigoted, and inhumane.”
“This outrageous tearing of families apart and causing fear in communities across America is clearly a political stunt, coming on the heels of Trump’s kickoff of his reelection campaign,” their statement read. “We stand with our undocumented immigrant communities and are committed to protecting them, regardless of the actions of President Trump and his administration.”
However, not all cities are pushing back against the Trump administration.
Miami is said to be one of the cities targeted in ICE’s upcoming raid, but Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill recently that prohibits sanctuary cities in the state, and mandates local officials must cooperate with federal immigration forces.
The Washington Post reported last week that the Justice Department, which runs the immigration courts, was aware of at least 12,780 removal orders issued to “family units” from Sept. 24 through Friday.
On June 4, ICE’s new chief, Mark Morgan, said the agency was developing plans to target families that had not heeded orders to leave the United States.
“Our next challenge is going to be interior enforcement,” Morgan said at the time. “We will be going after individuals who have gone through due process and who have received final orders of deportation,” and confirmed that plan would include families.
He pledged that immigration officials would treat the families “with compassion and humanity.”