Undocumented immigrants are increasingly being detained by immigration agents close to formerly ‘safe’ places, such as churches and courthouses, resulting in outraged activists and panicked immigrants. Immigration has been President Donald Trump’s policy cornerstone since taking office in January, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents given broader authority to both detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
Despite the fear of mass deportations under the new President, which has not come to pass, the deportation figures are still currently the same as those seen under the Obama administration. But, places that were once seen as sanctuaries are now being targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, with guidelines that urged them to focus only on the most serious criminal offender immigrants dropped. The result is that all undocumented immigrants now appear to be equal targets.
Recently, immigration agents checked the documents of every passenger on a flight at JFK Airport in New York, detained individuals who were waiting to shelter at an Alexandria church, and taken into custody an immigrant woman filing a domestic violence complaint, in El Paso, Texas. Undocumented New York attorney, Cesar Vargas, says that immigration agents have adopted a more aggressive attitude in the belief that they will no longer have to face accountability for their actions.
Vargas, who founded the immigration reform supporting Dream Action Coalition, says that agents have been given a blank check by Trump to do as they like with almost unfettered discretion.