IMMIGRATION raids on the United States’s farming and hospitality sectors have resumed after President Trump signalled a brief pause in his campaign to deport illegal workers.
The President acknowledged on his social media last week the “very aggressive” raids by immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) to arrest undocumented migrants were harming farmers and hotels. “Our farmers are being hurt badly. You know, they have very good workers. They’ve worked for them for 20 years. They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be, you know, great.”
ICE officials reportedly told staff to lay off raids in farming, meat-packing plants, and hotels the day after President Trump’s social-media post. But by Sunday, the President had changed tack again, and told ICE to deliver the “single largest Mass Deportation Program in History”, focusing on US cities that are run by Democrats and singling out Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.
Among the many raids was one on a meat-packing plant in Omaha, in which 76 people were detained. It prompted a public letter from the Bishop of Nebraska, the Rt Revd J. Scott Barker, which called for prayer and advocacy on behalf of those detained and their families.
“Seventy-six individuals who have been living and working in Nebraska, some for many years, are being kept in an unknown location after being detained,” Bishop Barker wrote. “Currently, they are unable to communicate with their families and appear to be without access to legal representation. They represent a tiny portion of the many thousands of people who have been arrested and deported over the last few months.
“As followers of Jesus, we know it is no ‘solution’ to turn away sisters and brothers in desperate need, to demonize particular races and cultures, or to break families apart.”
Los Angeles has been the focus for sustained raids, which resulted in mass demonstrations and the subsequent sending in of federal troops by President Trump (News, 13 June).
The Bishop of Los Angeles, the Rt Revd John H Taylor, wrote on Facebook: “Trump’s words wouldn’t be so worrisome if he hadn’t stationed National Guard troops and Marines in our city while putting pressure on ICE to increase its cruel workplace raids. Ever since the federal deployment, one can feel Los Angeles holding its breath and keeping calm, as during Saturday’s No Kings rally, when patriots all over the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles marched in spirit with four to six million nationwide.”
The No Kings protests — described as a rejection of authoritarianism — on Saturday were attended by about five million people in 2100 cities and towns, organisers estimate. They were largely peaceful, though a bystander was shot in Salt Lake City during a march, after a member of the peacekeeping team — put in place by the march organisers — shot at someone carrying a rifle. People took refuge in St Mark’s Cathedral.
The Bishop of Utah, the Rt Revd Phyllis Spiegel, was taking part in the march. She said afterwards: “When gunfire erupted nearby, we opened the Cathedral’s red doors, doors that are longstanding symbols of sanctuary, and encouraged people to quickly get inside. Within minutes, pews were filled with individuals, families and children seeking safety. Our role was clear: to offer help, to offer refuge, to be a peaceful presence in the midst of fear.”
ICE has been arresting and detaining around 2000 people a day since the raids began, it said; but this falls short of the target set by the White House last month of 3000 a day.