Imagine, if you can, that you live in a country where lawlessness is the norm and police or the government cannot or will not protect you and your family. You flee to a civilized country with hope of saving your family. Finally, after you take a deep breath of relief for finding safety, government agents swoop in, put you and your family in jail, and send you back to lawlessness and danger even though you have committed no crime other than to flee for your life.
The rumors of immigration raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) are spreading throughout the country, reaching New York. New Yorkers who are undocumented and even those who have been granted political asylum are scared to leave their homes. The Obama administration made good on a promise to deport the women and children who crossed the southern borders in an unprecedented surge of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Central America.
These immigrants were placed on a fast track immigration court system known as the “rocket docket” so their cases for protection called political asylum could be heard in the nation’s immigration courts. Many did not appear for their hearings because they moved to different cities to be with family and were not properly notified of their hearing dates. Some did not attend hearings due to fear and some had their cases heard and were denied by immigration judges.
Previously, ICE has been targeting immigrants with criminal records for deportation. Now, the new priority is deporting the Central Americans, many who are woman and children with absolutely no criminal history. Deportation means detention and removal and sending them back to fear and possibly death.
At our law firm, we are receiving calls from clients who are legally in the United States but still fearful of the ICE raids. People are keeping their children home from school and losing days at work for fear of leaving their homes and being scooped up by ICE agents. Stories of ICE agents going into churches, public schools, malls and setting up road blocks have fueled this fear.
One person tells a story of agents banging on his door. He lives with three other undocumented immigrants. They did not open the door nor did they respond. After a while, the agents left. Support groups are having meetings so the immigrants can learn what rights they have while in their homes against agents trying to enter without warrants.
There is no doubt that the immigration system in the United States is broken. Border security is not what it should be and the immigration laws are outdated and, in some cases, patently unfair. An overhaul certainly is needed, however, in the meantime, there must be a stop to mass deportations until the current system is evaluated, modified, and eventually replaced with a common sense, and fair immigration set of laws.
