ICE raids are on the way

This weekend, agents of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement are conducting targeted raids in as many as 10 cities against those undocumented immigrants who have already received deportation orders but have since absconded. This latest move is in response to President Trump's order of rounding up immigrant communities and enforcing final immigration court orders. However, it is inevitable that there will be collateral arrests that could happen. So even if you don’t have a deportation order but have already exceeded your authorized stay and you just happen to be in the house where ICE agents are looking for Pedro who has already been ordered to be deported but is still in the US, you can still be arrested and deported.

What is terrifying about these raids is the effect on children and families. For sure, there will be families who will be separated because one parent has a deportation order while the rest of the family members are greencard holders or US citizens. Some critics also point out that these raids are unnecessary and the government must instead focus its resources on more pressing concerns. Major cities that consider themselves as sanctuary cities have already condemned such raids and vowed not to provide police support. ICE, meanwhile, says that it will continue to exercise its enforcement responsibilities regardless what the local cities feel about the raids.

I hope there will be not so many Filipinos affected by these raids. The lesson that we can learn here is that as long as you are undocumented, you can never rest easy. You should not be complacent and assume that there will be an immigration amnesty or that a Democrat president will be more tolerant. Remember that even under Obama, deportations were at an all-time high!

Let us see what happens next as these raids continue to be implemented, and possibly expanded, across the nation.

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This column is not a substitute for professional legal advice obtained from a US licensed immigration attorney. The information contained herein does not constitute a warranty or guarantee or legal advice regarding a reader’s specific immigration case. No attorney-client relationship is and shall be established with any reader.

For any questions, comments and observations, please contact Atty. Marco Tomakin at [email protected]