ICE roundup reportedly underway: Raids occur in NY, many other cities yet to see action

Immigration authorities had begun conducting raids, a senior administration official told CNN on Sunday, in an operation expected to target about 2,000 undocumented immigrants ordered by courts to be removed from the country.

Federal agents attempted raids in at least two sections of New York City, the Wall Street Journal reported, but in many other major U.S. cities it appeared to be uneventful thus far.

In New York, the Journal reported Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents went to numerous residences in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but the agents were rejected by people at the residences because they didn’t have warrants.

Elsewhere, as of Sunday evening there weren’t any confirmed reports of migrants being apprehended in Baltimore or Chicago, immigrant advocacy groups in those cities told CNN.

USA Today reported that federal raids had also failed to materialize Sunday in Miami, Los Angeles or Atlanta.

In Texas, there were no signs of roundup activity either. Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the migrant advocacy group FIEL Houston, told USA Today that ICE was probably waiting until national attention on the supposed raids subsides before launching operations.

One city where raids were not expected was New Orleans, where ICE suspended operations because of Tropical Storm Barry.

ICE would not comment on operational details of any raids, spokesman Matthew Bourke said, but added that “ICE prioritizes the arrest and removal of unlawfully present aliens who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security.”

News of the pending raids had left many undocumented immigrants frightened. They had been stocking up on groceries and making plans to stay in their homes with the lights off and the blinds down. Some were staying home from work. Others posted signs inside their homes reminding them what to do if ICE agents show up. Unsure of where to turn, they flooded hotlines with calls.

ICE had originally planned to arrest and deport families with court-ordered removals in late June, but President Trump delayed the raids to give Congress time to “work out a solution” on what he said were asylum and loophole problems with the country’s immigration policy.

Trump repeatedly tweeted about the impending operation, but former acting ICE director John Sandweg expressed concern over all the publicity surrounding the anticipated raids.

“You never want the target to know you’re coming. You want that element of surprise because it keeps you safe,” he said. “From an effective perspective, that’s why you don’t announce these things.”

In February, ICE sent around 2,000 letters to families who already had received final orders of removal by judges in absentia, asking them to self-report to ICE offices by March. This weekend’s operation was said to target those approximately 2,000 people.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics, 256,085 people were deported in fiscal year 2018, up from 226,119 removals in fiscal year 2017.

Acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services director Ken Cuccinelli has said there are one million people in the county facing removal orders.

“Of course, that isn’t what ICE will go after in this, but that’s the pool of people who have been all the way through the due process chain,” he said.