US immigration raids sweep up hundreds of undocumented migrants

MIAMI - US officials said that some 680 undocumented migrants were detained in raids Wednesday at food processing plants in the southeastern United States, part of President Donald Trump's announced crackdown on illegal immigration.

Most of those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were Hispanic migrants, officials said.

"Special agents executed administrative and criminal search warrants resulting in the detention of approximately 680 illegal aliens," said Mike Hurst, US Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.

"They have to follow our laws, they have to abide by our rules, they have to come here legally or they shouldn't come here at all," Hurst said at a news conference.

The US attorney did not spare the employers. 

"To those who use illegal aliens for competitive advantage or to make a quick buck, we have something to say to you: If we find that you have violated federal criminal law, we're coming after you," he said.

Matthew Albence, the interim ICE head, said the raids were the result of a year-long investigation.

He said that the children of detained parents will be sent to live with relatives or other families.

Some of the migrants will be released with electronic ankle monitors as they await a court hearing.

ICE agents raided food processing plants in the towns of Morton, Carthage, Canton, Pelahatchie, Sebastopol and Bay Springs, all in the state of Mississippi, officials said.

In June, Trump tweeted that ICE "will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States."

Trump has also tweeted several times about an alleged "invasion" of people crossing the southern border into the United States.

lm/ch/cs

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Over 680 arrested in US immigration raids

WASHINGTON - US immigration officers have arrested more than 680 people in recent operations, 75 percent of whom have criminal records, the homeland security chief said on Monday of actions that have alarmed immigrant rights groups.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said the operations were routine and consistent with regular operations carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Immigration rights advocates say agents are deporting migrants indiscriminately and that the operations, which they describe as raids, do not take into account an immigrant's threat level or family ties to the United States.

Kelly said in a statement that crimes committed by the illegal immigrants ranged from homicide to driving under the influence of alcohol.

Some of the immigrants arrested had ignored final orders of deportation, according to ICE, the agency responsible for immigrant arrests and deportations. The agency did not specify its reasoning for a handful of immigrants other than that they were in the country illegally.

Former Democratic President Barack Obama was criticized for being the "deporter in chief" after he deported over 400,000 people in 2012, more than any president in a single year.

In 2014, Obama's homeland security chief issued a memo directing agents to focus on deporting a narrow slice of immigrants, namely those who had recently entered the country or committed serious felonies. Immigrants who were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, for example, were treated as lower priorities for deportation.

President Donald Trump promised to deport 2 million to 3 million migrants with criminal records on taking office.

At a news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, Trump said his administration had "really done a great job" in its recent arrests of immigrants.

"We're actually taking people that are criminals, very, very, hardened criminals in some cases with a tremendous track record of abuse and problems," Trump said.

ICE said in a statement on Monday that the operations targeted immigrants in the Midwest, Los Angeles, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and San Antonio.

Not every immigrant arrested had a criminal record or prior order to leave the country, according to the data released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In Los Angeles, for example, 151 out of the 161 immigrants arrested had criminal records, but the agency did not give a reason for the arrests of the 10 migrants with no criminal record.

The immigrants' arrests followed Trump's Jan. 27 executive order temporarily banning people from seven predominantly Muslim countries and all refugees from entering the United States. That order was suspended by a U.S. district judge, in a ruling upheld by a federal appeals court.

source: news.abs-cbn.com