As expected, mass immigration raids conducted by ICE has taken place on Sunday. The raids are set to target around 2,000 families in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco, many of which have labeled themselves sanctuaries cities for undocumented immigrants. However, Houston and New Orleans will not see immigration enforcement actions due to Hurricane Barry, according to ABC.
The raids were originally scheduled for June 23 but were postponed so that Democrats and Republicans in Congress could figure out a compromise on immigration policy. In June, Trump tweeted that the deal would have to rectify “the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border.” However, officials said plans were delayed because details had been leaked to the media.
Wary of being swept up in the planned roundups, some U.S. citizens have even begun carrying their American passports at all times. NBC reports that many of these citizens are of Latin origin.
Raids began a day early in New York City on Saturday, in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood and Brooklyn's Sunset Park, according to Wall Street Journal. However, agents were rejected by people at their residences because they didn’t have warrants. WSJ reports that agents plan to return to Sunset Park tomorrow.
A spokeswoman for ICE said that the agency won’t provide details regarding enforcement operations: “As always, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of unlawfully present aliens who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security,” per WSJ. Protests were held in many of the targeted cities—as well as other states—on Friday and Saturday.
According to ABC, the operation will reportedly target undocumented immigrants with final removal orders, who will ultimately be deported. A law enforcement official also told the outlet that so-called collaterals—people who happen to be with targeted individuals—will not be arrested.
Trump first made the threat of raids in June, tweeting that ICE would deport “millions” of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., while also blaming congressional Democrats, asking them to address the “border crisis.”
