On the first weekend of 2016, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested 121 immigrants who have lost asylum cases and were ordered deported by immigration judges. Most were fleeing gang violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
The New York Times reports, from a quote by Secretary Jeh Johnson of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), that the arrests signaled the start of the campaign for the repatriation of families and children without their parents who were part of the influx of people who crossed the South Texas border in 2014. Most were fleeing gang violence in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. The Obama Administration intents to send a stronger message that US borders are not open to illegal migration and will not hesitate to repatriate even mothers and children back to their home countries.
The 121 individuals were taken into custody primarily from Georgia, Texas and North Carolina. The focus of the ICE operations are people who were apprehended after May 1, 2014 for crossing the border illegally and have been issued final orders of removal by immigration courts. The San Antonio Express News cites that according to Mohammad Abdollahi of the San Antonio-based non-profit organization, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, families caught in the raids started arriving at a South Texas detention center last January 3, 2016.
The San Antonio Express News also reports that in last October and November, Border Patrol agents apprehended 12,500 families, which is thrice the number arrested during the same period last 2014. Also during the October-November 2015 period, 10,000 unaccompanied children were apprehended illegally crossing the border.
These arrests are strongly condemned by immigrant rights and Latino groups in the US. The Business Standard quotes Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, as claiming that the approach of the DHS is not safe or sustainable. He further said that deportation is not a substitute for well-functioning refugee and asylum processes for families with credible fear of persecution.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, says that they will mobilize to oppose what they termed as the obscene and inhuman plan to deport migrants.Even so, the Homeland Security Secretary defended the actions against the immigrants. "As I have said repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration; if you come here illegally, we will send you back consistent with our laws and values," Johnson said.
