Raids to apprehend and deport undocumented migrants in the United States will begin on the first full day of the new Trump administration, according to US media reports.
According to the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, the operations, which have been threatened by Donald Trump’s “border tsar” Tom Homan, might begin as soon as Tuesday in Chicago, a city with a substantial migrant population.
Trump has announced that he will oversee the greatest deportation effort in US history.
In a Fox News interview this week, Homan vowed a “big raid” across the country. He earlier stated that Chicago will be “ground zero” for the mass deportations.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department routinely deports unlawful aliens. However, the operation, which is scheduled to begin following Trump’s inauguration on Monday, is intended to target so-called “sanctuary” cities that restrict cooperation with federal immigration officials.
Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles are among the many US cities that have implemented “sanctuary” policies.
“January 21st, you’re going to look for a lot of ICE agents in your city looking for criminals and gang members,” Homan told a Republican gathering in Chicago last month. “Count on it. It will happen.”
The Wall Street Journal adds that raids are also planned for New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and Miami, citing unnamed sources.
Under Democratic President Joe Biden, ICE prioritised the apprehension of illegal migrants who were severe criminals, had recently crossed the border, or represented a national security risk.
While Trump’s team has indicated that it will start with migrants who have committed crimes, all illegal migrants, including those who have lived and worked in the United States for many years and have no criminal record, are more likely to be detained and deported.
Immigration raids at construction sites, where undocumented migrants frequently work, are also set to restart after being suspended by the Biden administration, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
Ahead of the anticipated hardening of US policy, more migrant farm workers have sought help on dealing with immigration officials and appointing temporary guardians for their children.
“The administration is not yet sworn in, but people are already afraid,” Sarait Martinez, executive director of the Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño, which supports Mexican farm workers in California, told Reuters news agency.
In addition to proposing to deport millions of illegal aliens and threatening workplace raids, some sources imply that Trump may alter a long-standing regulation that prohibits ICE arrests in churches.
However, with insufficient jail room to hold those apprehended, officials are anticipated to face severe challenges during the next operations.
At the same time, US senators are poised to enact the Laken Riley Act, named after a college girl slain in Georgia last year by a Venezuelan man previously imprisoned for theft, next week.
The proposed legislation would require the federal government to detain migrants living in the United States illegally who are suspected of criminal activity, even if no charges are filed.
