An ICE raid gutted a town in Trump’s first term. Now, fear of a repeat.
Story by Annie Gowen, Sarah L. Voisin • 1h
O’NEILL, Neb. — The Flores family invited almost everybody they knew to baby Elian’s first birthday party, but Leydi Flores wasn’t sure whether anyone would show up.
Her family’s Mexican restaurant has had a ghostly feel in recent days, as many Latino families in this rural farming town lay low, scared that they might become targets of President Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown. Across the country, raids have ensnared thousands and crowded immigration detention centers.
“I’m worried,” Flores said, cuddling her grandson in a banquet room at the restaurant as her daughter put together an enormous cardboard Winnie-the-Pooh for the celebration. “We invited all these people. Will they come? Do they have visas or not? Will the police be outside watching?”
The close-knit community in O’Neill is still recovering from a 2018 raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at several agricultural facilities, which gutted the town, forced some businesses to close and left many residents reeling.
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