Immigration Raids Targeting Houston, Other Cities Delayed: Trump

HOUSTON, TX — President Donald Trump said immigration raids targeting families with deportation orders have been delayed for two weeks.

In a tweet, Trump said the delay is at the request of Democrats. Trump wrote that he will give it two weeks to see if Democrats and Republicans can work together to solve the "Asylum and Loophole problems" at the Southern border.

Trump said deportations would start is lawmakers are unable to come to a resolution.

HOUSTON, TX — Raids targeting migrant families with deportation orders are expected to being in 10 U.S. cities, including Houston, early Sunday, The Washington Post reported.

According to the Post, up to 2,000 families will be targeted across all 10 cities. The first indication of the raids came when President Donald Trump tweeted earlier this week that "ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States."

On Saturday, Trump tweeted that the people ICE will apprehend have already been ordered to be deported.

However, officials that spoke to the Washington Post said some migrants that might be arrested may not be able to be deported immediately. Those people will likely be released with ankle monitoring devices, according to the Post.

The Post further reported that ICE and White House officials believe agents will be able to arrest many living in the country without documentation while conducting raids at the targeted locations.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday about the impending raids, Trump said that some cities are going to try to fight it.

"Many of those cities are high-crime and sanctuary cities," Trump said.

In a statement, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the city had not been notified directly by ICE of any plans to conduct mass raids targeting undocumenting families.

"The unconfirmed reports have created a great deal of anxiety for some and it proves once again this country needs comprehensive immigration reform," Turner said.

Turner said the city does not try to do ICE's job but neither does it try to impede the agency.

You can find the full text of Turner's statement below:

"The city of Houston has not been directly notified by ICE of any plans to conduct mass raids targeting undocumented families. The unconfirmed reports have created a great deal of anxiety for some and it proves once again this country needs comprehensive immigration reform.

"People deserve certainty in their lives, especially those who have been living in our community and making positive contributions.We are a country that places a high premium on families and we need to be cautious about separating parents from children or uprooting entire families.

"Houston depends on the ingenuity, the sweat and the rich cultural contributions of its immigrants. One of four Houstonians is foreign born and we are the most diverse big city in the U.S. We welcome newcomers of all kinds when they come to our city to work hard and make a home.

"It makes sense, then, that many people in our city are concerned about reports of plans for mass raids against undocumented immigrants across the country. In the larger picture this is another vivid reminder that our national leaders must work together across party lines to fix a broken and dysfunctional immigration system.

"My job starts with the never-ending effort to provide a safe, secure and prosperous environment for every resident of Houston in their places of work, their places of worship, their school, their homes and elsewhere. The city does not try to do ICE’s job, nor does it try to impede ICE. And we will continue to be a city that builds relationships, not walls."

Read the full Washington Post article on the ICE raids.