From the Young Turks, How Trump's Deportations Are Breaking Up Real Families 02/10/2017:
Pilar Marrero reports in Autoridades migratorias intensifican arrestos, reportan actividades en al menos diez estados La Opinión 02/10/2017 that apparently expanded ICE operations are being reported in the 10 states of "California, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Virginia, Georgia, Carolina del Sur, Carolina del Norte, Nueva York y Oklahoma."
Officially, the arrests are focused on people who have committed crimes. But Trump adviser Stephen Miller on Meet the Press today was cagey about whether those whose only crime is not strictly complying with the immigration laws are being prioritized among the alleged criminals. This was a policy change that Trump announced as part of his January 25 Muslim Ban Executive Order, which is legally on "stay." But it appears that ICE is enforcing the changed policy anyway.
Marrero describes reports from North Carolina and Texas of roadblocks in which people's immigration status is being checked.
She quotes Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro writing on February 10:
I am concerned about the ICE raids in Texas. I have been informed by ICE that the agency’s San Antonio field office has launched a targeted operation in South and Central Texas as part of Operation Cross Check. I'm asking ICE to clarify whether these individuals are in fact dangerous, violent threats to our communities, and not people who are here peacefully raising families and contributing to our state. I will continue to monitor this situation.
Dallas News reports (Trump praises ICE for immigration enforcement 02/12/2017):
As a candidate, Donald Trump vowed to take a hard line on immigration. Five days after taking office, he signed a sweeping executive order that made clear that just about any immigrant living in the country illegally could be a priority for deportation, particularly those with outstanding deportation orders. The president's order also said enforcement priorities would include convicted criminals, immigrants who had been arrested for any criminal offense, those who committed fraud, and anyone who may have committed a crime. ...
... immigrant rights groups say the actions are harsher than in the past.
Advocates began fielding calls Thursday from immigrants and their lawyers reporting raids at homes and businesses in the greater Los Angeles area. In one instance, agents showed up at the home of a 50-year-old house painter named Manuel Mosqueda in the Los Angeles suburbs, looking to arrest an immigrant who wasn't there. In the process, they spoke with Mosqueda, arrested him and put him on a bus to Mexico - though lawyers were able to halt his deportation and bring him back.
In all, Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested about 160 people during a five-day sweep in Southern California aimed at immigrants with criminal histories and deportation orders, including a Salvadoran gang member wanted in his country and a Brazilian drug trafficker. Marin acknowledged that five of those arrested would not have met the Obama administration's enforcement priorities.
