ICE arrests 35 out of 2,000 targeted in US raids

A roundup of migrants across the US that was highly publicized by President Donald Trump and targeted some 2,000 people has resulted in only 35 arrests.

The raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) started on July 14 in 10 major cities and were aimed at people in the country illegally who had received a court-ordered deportation notice from a judge.

Immigrants' rights advocates say that the number of detentions may have fallen short of 2,000 in part because of an extensive campaign on social media and in immigrant neighborhoods by organizations that handed out fliers to educate people about their rights when dealing with an ICE agent.

Matthew Albence, acting director of ICE, confirmed that the number of migrants detained was low and blamed widespread support for illegal immigrants.

"I don't know of any other population where people are telling them how to avoid arrest as a result of illegal activity," Albence told The New York Times. "It certainly makes it harder for us to effectuate these orders issued."

He said the operation is ongoing.

Jorge-Mario Cabrera, director of communications for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, told China Daily: "ICE released a press statement yesterday that bitterly complained about our actions. …This is one of the first times all across the nation that immigrants' rights groups and our allies spoke in the same language.

"The president said there's lots of people being detained, but you don't know. I think he's partially right," Cabrera said. "Just in LA we had 13 people detained in those few days between Saturday and Wednesday. Those are the ones that we know of. There may be more. If LA had 13, then other [places]would have had more. I think [the number] is officially higher."

Dubbed "Operation Border Resolve", it was a show of force amid the Trump administration's concern over the increasing number of migrants traveling to the southern border with Mexico to claim asylum. The raids had been due to take place in June but were rescheduled for last week.

Following reports that the raids had not yielded much in results, Trump told reporters that they had been "very successful''.

He raised alarm in immigrant communities after he said the raids would result in mass deportations. ICE later clarified that the number targeted would be closer to 2,000.

Ariana Martinez-Lott, a rapid-response organizer for an immigrant rights organization called Faith in the Valley, located in the Central Valley of California, told China Daily: "There has been a lot of issues that came up in the last week. A lot of panic, a lot of fear, [people] scared to go their jobs, scared to be out in their community, or at the grocery store.

"A lot of individuals called our hotline because they were certain immigration was at their door," she added, although there were no arrests. "But people asserted their rights. They didn't open the door. I'm really encouraged that people are now ready to protect themselves in a way that, maybe, last year, they were caught off guard."

The New York Police Department ordered its officers not to work with ICE officials. In Los Angeles and other cities, police also refused to cooperate.

The 35 migrants arrested included 18 from families who had crossed the border together. Another 17 were others who were encountered during an operation, Albence said in a call with reporters on Tuesday.

He said that 934 people, including those recently arrested, had been detained by immigration authorities since May 13.

The government also has begun using raids that target employers suspected of hiring undocumented workers. At least 3,282 businesses have been targeted, according to Albence.

"We are concerned [that ICE is targeting workplaces]. The relative of someone who works in a field called us this morning and said that ICE showed up and started trying to arrest people. … It terrorizes our community when individuals are just trying to provide for their families," Martinez-Lott said.

There are at least 1 million immigration cases pending in the system. The Trump administration deported 256,085 people in 2018. The Obama administration deported 409,849 in 2012.

Last week, in another effort to stem the flow of migrants into the US from Central America, the Trump administration announced plans to deny protections for those who don't apply for asylum in the first country they get to on their way to America's southwest border.