The raids and mass deportations announced by President Donald Trump did not take place as an “implacable persecution” as it was anticipated, according to the expectation that the president generated with his rhetoric.
Yesterday, Sunday, uncertainty was a cloud over the 10 U.S. cities that could host a list of more than 2,000 “requested” people for the mass raids announced by the President.
Civil rights activists in the United States remain on alert and wait for ICE to begin its operations, and then apply legal proceedings to restore violated constitutional guarantees.
This was an atypical and baffling Sunday in which immigration officials defended in the media, the deportation raids of thousands of undocumented immigrants.
According to the local press, in 9 out of 10 cities where the search and detention of undocumented immigrants would be carried out, there was no activity. There are only some cases in New York, with three operations without arrests the day before.
The Hill published that the raids were only activated in the media, with declarations from officials of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (ICE).
Facing cameras and microphones, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities, also stressed the necessity of the raids, but did not precise details.
Matthew Albence, ICE Director, in an interview for Fox News, said he wouldn’t “specifically talk about anything that is happening from the operations point of view.”
According to The Wall Street Journal, Saturday night raid trials in Harlem and Sunset Park, New York, did not go well because they were rejected by neighbors who detected that officials were proceeding without arrest warrants.
Yesterday morning, the New York Mayor had great media coverage, and at a press conference Bill de Blasio confirmed the three raids, their ineffectiveness and the reaction of the community.
He said there were three ICE operations in his city on Saturday, with no reported arrests. He said there was no ICE activity in New York on Sunday.
Juan José Gutiérrez, executive director of the Movimiento Latino USA in Los Angeles, California, told local media that “we don’t know about raids or mass deportations, but the president’s threat put us on permanent alert.
“Right now I’m driving home after spending all day working on community issues. We’re on standby, waiting, telling the community not to be terrified. And that they know their rights, because that’s the most important thing right now,” he adds.
The activist also pointed out that “the government created fear in millions of people all over the country. Regardless of whether he delivers on his promises of raids and deportations, they wanted to terrorize and they have done it. That’s why we have our guard up high.”
“And one thing. Mass raids may happen tomorrow or the day after. We don’t know, but the threat is there, latent. We believe that in the White House they are not going to stay just like that, like people who exaggerate… But we don’t know for now how big the president’s threat will be. That’s why the permanent alert,” he said.
Translated by: José Espinoza