In Brooklyn, looking for illegal immigrants: for 5 days, immigration police arranged 6 raids

As raids continue in New York, fear increases in immigration communities in Brooklyn.

Photo: Twitter screenshot

Mayor Bill de Blasio at a press conference on Wednesday announced that ICE agents had conducted at least eight raids in the city. Six of them took place in Brooklyn.

Witnesses reported that four occurred at Sunset Park, one at Midwood and one at Bay Ridge on Wednesday morning. All eight raids that took place over five days were unsuccessful. No arrests followed.

“We're talking about hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who are experiencing enormous fear right now,” the mayor said at a news conference Wednesday.

The City Hall for Immigrants estimates that Brooklyn is home to about 127 000 out of 500 000 residents without documents.

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Checks began after President Trump and federal officials confirmed their plans for large-scale raids.

Although the number of raids was less than expected, fear is still high in immigrant communities.

A local resident of Sunset Park, 65, a summer native of the Dominican Republic, Rosario Dias, who is a legal resident of the United States, has been looking after her neighbors in recent days, warning them when she sees ICE agents in the area.

Diaz has lived in the area for over 20 years. She thanks the local church for their active efforts in informing illegal immigrants about their rights.

“People [immigrants without documents] were listening. The church told them that What do we have to do, has been handing out brochures and it seems to be working. I heard that people don’t open their doors,” Diaz added.

For some residents, raids have become a cruel reminder of what has already become an everyday reality for some families.

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Lucia Lopez, a Sunset Park resident and native of Mexico, feels the severity of the scrutiny. Lucia is the oldest in a family of three siblings who currently live in Brooklyn. She is the only legal resident of the United States.

Her younger sister and her three young children (aged 2, 6 and 9 years) were separated from her husband and their father after being detained by ICE officers in July last year in the Brooklyn Criminal Court.

“I’m not afraid because I have documents, but I’m worried about my sister and her children. Especially children. The youngest son has refused to eat and is threatening to commit suicide. Wants his father to come back,” Lopez said.

While Lopez and her family members were anxiously awaiting the outcome of their son-in-law’s fate, Brooklyn residents are demanding vigorous action by local officials and activists who promised to protect during raids, but recently disappeared.

“They promise to help. But when we need them, they [local officials and activists] are not there,” Lopez added.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Trump promised to launch ICE’s large-scale raids in the morning of June 23, aimed on families of illegal immigrants. It was noted that the “family operation” would affect up to 2 000 families who received deportation orders. Such families mostly live in US 10 cities, including Houston, Chicago, Miami, New York, Los Angeles and others.
• The authorities of major cities across the country opposed Trump's decision. People were promised legal protection and support.
• However, just before the start of raids for the organization of mass deportation the president changed his mind. Trump said he postpones raids in an attempt to negotiate immigration issues with Democrats.
• In early July, a scandal erupted in the US over poor conditions for keeping illegal immigrants at the border. A group of lawmakers from the Democratic Party visited migrant detention centers located near the border with Mexico, describing the “nightmarish” conditions in which thousands of people are held - according to congressmen, detained illegal immigrants from Central America often do not have access to water, food and other elementary needs.
• July 2 Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security posted photos from the migrant center in Texas.
• At the same time, Trump said that if illegal immigrants do not like conditions, then "let them not come.

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The immigration authorities deported the illegal, but then changed their mind and brought him back to the US

How scammers lure money from immigrants by pretending to be ICE agents

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