HUGE SPIKE IN ICE ARRESTS UNDER TRUMP

36% SPIKE IN ICE ARRESTS SINCE TRUMP TOOK OFFICE

According to the Washington Post, in the first month alone of Trump’s presidency, immigration arrests by Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement agency (ICE) have spiked sharply causing fear to spread in the immigrant community. It’s not just those with criminal records that have been the target of these arrests, but arrests of non-criminal immigrants have more than doubled to 5,441. Reports of ICE at the state and local courthouses have sparked prosecutors to state that it is harder to pursue cases and ICE presence actually interferes with the course of justice. ICE Spokeswoman Jennifer Elze said that the agency “focuses its enforcement on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security. However as DHS Secretary Kelly has made clear, ICE will no longer exempt classes or categories of removable aliens from potential enforcement.” President Trump’s executive order make all undocumented immigrants subject to removal, repealing the removal priority policy previously in place under President Obama. Those in the US without legal status are being counseled to be prepared, know what ICE can and cannot do, and what to do if they are caught up in a raid or encounter Immigration Enforcement Officers. Undocumented parents are advised to proactively take steps to ensure that in the event they are arrested, their children will be cared for by relatives or trustworthy neighbors for the short and long term.