Immigrant advocates prepare for ICE sweeps: ‘The effect is terror. We’re getting call after call after call’LA Times, Jun 21, 2019, Paloma Esquivel
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President Trump had said Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would begin removing “millions†in the country illegally. Federal officials then said that agents in major U.S. cities would target up to 2,000 family members for deportation. On Friday, Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said about 140 individuals with orders for removal would be targeted by immigration agents in Southern California.
What is already clear is that the announcements have sent fear throughout immigrant communities. “The effect is terror,†Amaya said. “We’re getting call after call after call. There is a lot of fear.†Like immigrant advocates throughout Southern California, Amaya said he is urging people to prepare but not panic.
Angelica Salas, executive director of the nonprofit Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said her group has been meeting with others as part of a rapid response network of community organizations and attorneys, who are on call to provide legal representation to people arrested by immigration agents.
Groups in the network operate hotlines throughout the region that advocates have been urging people to call to report ICE activity and enforcement actions.
“We’ve never had anything like this where whole families are being targeted, as opposed to individuals, so we’re preparing to see a new face of enforcement that maybe we haven’t seen before,†Salas said. Her group has also been using social media and other outlets to urge people to know their legal rights in case they are targeted by immigration agents.
More:
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-immigration-sweeps-fear-20190621-story.html
