Gillian M. Christensen, a press secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), stated that the raids would affect individuals entering the US illegally, those having existing orders of removal, and those who do not meet the requirements for asylum. She underscored that migrants will be “sent back consistent with our laws and our values.”
Amidst an ongoing presidential campaign in which migrant-related issues are at the forefront, the move was widely criticized by both supporters and opponents of managed immigration. While pro-immigration groups called the initiative heartless, anti-immigration parties said it is “window dressing designed to fool people into thinking they have things under control.”
“[T]his kind of aggressive roundup is to double down on a failed policy,” Gregory Chen, director of advocacy for the American Immigration Lawyers Association The New York Times. “These are Central American families who are seeking asylum and should be given humanitarian protection rather than being treated as illegal border crossers.”
Meanwhile, the number of families and children crossing the southern American border is rapidly growing.
Some 5,622 unaccompanied minors were stopped at the Mexican border in the month of November, a new record.
In the last two years roughly 100,000 families and tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors, most of who are from Central America, have illegally entered the US.
