ICE Raids Expected To Take Place In South Florida

MIAMI, FL — The ACLU of South Florida said on Sunday that there have been reports of "multiple, attempted and unsuccessful ICE raids throughout the country" as immigration raids were reported Sunday in major cities in the U.S. under the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation backed by President Donald Trump.

"Spoiler: No arrests were made," ACLU of South Florida said in a social media post on Sunday.

Hundreds of people gathered for a candlelight vigil and rally outside the Homestead temporary shelter for unaccompanied children Friday night ahead of the anticipated Sunday raids.

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"Regardless of your immigration status, you have guaranteed rights under the Constitution," the ACLU of South Florida advised.

The raids, reported Sunday in New York, Massachusetts and Texas, have sparked outrage among immigration advocates and even members of the Republican president's own party.

The head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said efforts to deport families with orders to leave the country will continue after the national sweep that President Donald Trump said would start Sunday.

Matthew Albence, the agency’s acting director, said targets were on an “accelerated docket” of immigration court cases for predominantly Central Americans who recently arrived at the U.S. border in unprecedented numbers. Similar operations occurred in 2016 under President Barack Obama and in 2017 under Trump.

“This family operation is nothing new,” Albence told the Associated Press. “It’s part of our day-to-day operations. We’re trying to surge some additional resources to deal with this glut of cases that came out of the accelerated docket, but after this operation is over, these cases are still going to be viable cases that we’ll be out there investigating and pursuing.”

The operation will target people with final deportation orders on 10 major court dockets, including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Miami. Albence said that doesn’t mean arrests will be limited to certain areas. Authorities will go where their investigations lead, even if it’s five states away from where the case is filed.

ICE spokesman Nestor Yglesias in Miami told Patch earlier that he was unable to discuss any plans by the agency to conduct raids in Miami.

Yglesias said that 90 percent of the people arrested by ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations in fiscal year 2018 had either a criminal conviction, pending criminal charges, were deemed to be an ICE fugitive or someone who illegally reentered the country after previously being removed.

The ACLU of South Florida posted a link to immigrant rights in both English and Spanish.

The raids were originally to have taken place in late June. Trump delayed the operation after talking to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, and gave congressional Democrats two weeks to pass a $4.6 billion border aid package. Also, details of the operation had been leaked, some by Trump himself via Twitter, and authorities were worried about the safety of ICE officers.

The agency didn't offer any specifics ahead of the raids, saying only in a statement: "As always, ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of unlawfully present aliens who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security."

Operations taking place regularly since 2003 have often produced hundreds of arrests, but in the past, ICE has focused efforts on rounding up criminals who "pose a threat to public safety," according to its website. What's different this time is that agency is targeting families who had expedited court dates to deter migrants waiting in Mexico to cross the southern border, acting ICE director Mark Morgan told reporters last month.

One person believed to be in Orlando said their father has been missing since 9 a.m. Saturday. They feared that he got picked up by ICE agents.

As fear swept immigrant families, many stayed home from work, skipped medical appointments and kept their children inside. But with broader authority in the current operation, ICE agents are able to enter people's homes.

Former Department of Homeland Security officials who spoke to The New York Times said the raids will produce "collateral arrests" of people who happen to be on the scene who weren't specifically targeted for deportation, but are deportable.

The former homeland security officials told The Times that family members arrested together will be held in family detention centers in Texas and Philadelphia when possible, but because space is limited, some could also be put up in hotels while their immigration courts process their travel orders.

In an interview with Patch on Friday night, WeCount community organizer Guadalupe Delacurc said that immigration raids are a constant fear around Homestead, which is about 41 miles outside Miami near the Florida Everglades.

"For many, many years Homestead has always been a target of ICE," she told Patch. "There has always been separations of families in Homestead. There have always been pickups made from ICE agents in both working areas and in individuals' own homes."

Patch editor Beth Dalbey and The Associated Press contributed reporting.