Leaders in Montgomery County have given the Obama administration a blunt warning that there will be no cooperation from local police in the new immigration raids intended to detain and then deport undocumented immigrants from Central America. These raids are now taking place across the United States.
Despite criticism from the county and from Democratic presidential candidate nominees Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, the raids are continuing to go ahead. Montgomery County’s stance has drawn its own criticism, with Corey Stewart, the Virginia head of the Donald Trump presidential campaign and the chair of the Prince William County Board, mockingly saying he will urge undocumented immigrants to get out of his community and move to Maryland instead.
Social media is passing the word not to open doors to undocumented immigrants in reaction to the raids being carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Leaders in Montgomery County are also afraid that the new crackdown will deter undocumented immigrants from reporting crimes to the police, while a number of immigrants are going as far as to pull their kids out of school out of fear. Isiah Leggett, a Montgomery County Executive, says the raids are “ill-founded and counter-productive”; however, Stewart says it is Montgomery County that is making the mistake.
The Obama administration intends to continue with the raids, with officials at the Department of Homeland Security claiming they hope the events will send a message and deter more undocumented immigrants from crossing the border.