Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY
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A6   U.S. NEWS
                 Monday 31 deceMber 2018
                                                                      Under Trump, ICE is face of



                                                                      hard-line immigration policy



                                                                      By COLLEEN LONG              ference  table  in  an  ordi-  of  a  crime.  But  the  data
                                                                       Associated Press            nary office in a nondescript  also show the agency has
                                                                      RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The  office  park  in  the  suburbs,  greatly  ramped  up  arrests
                                                                      officers  suit  up  in  the  pre-  going over their targets for  of  people  who  were  ac-
                                                                      dawn  darkness,  wrapping  the  day:  two  men,  both  cused  of  a  crime  but  not
                                                                      on  body  armor,  snapping  with  criminal  histories.  Top  convicted,  and  increased
            In this Jan. 10, 2018, file photo, U.S. Immigration and Customs   in  guns,  pulling  on  black  of  the  list  is  a  man  from  arrests  solely  on  immigra-
            Enforcement agents gather before serving an employment au-  sweat  shirts  that  read  PO-  El  Salvador  convicted  of  tion violations.
            dit notice at a 7-Eleven convenience store, in Los Angeles.    LICE and ICE.           drunken driving.             ICE arrested 32,977 people
                                                     Associated Press   They gather around a con-  U.S. Customs and Immigra-    accused  of  crimes  and
                                                                                                   tion Enforcement's enforce-  20,464  with  immigration
                                                                                                   ment  and  removal  opera-   violations  during  the  bud-
                                                                                                   tions,  like  the  five-person  get  year  2018.  There  were
                                                                                                   field  office  team  outside  105,140 arrests of someone
                                                                                                   Richmond,  hunt  people  in  with  a  criminal  conviction
                                                                                                   the  U.S.  illegally,  some  of  and 158,581 arrests overall.
                                                                                                   whom have been here for  The most frequent criminal
                                                                                                   decades, working and rais-   conviction was for drunken
                                                                                                   ing  families.  Carrying  out  driving,  followed  by  drug
                                                                                                   President  Donald  Trump's  and traffic offenses.
                                                                                                   hard-line  immigration  poli-  By  comparison,  in  the  last
                                                                                                   cies  has  exposed  ICE  to  budget year of the Obama
                                                                                                   unprecedented       public  administration,  there  were
                                                                                                   scrutiny and criticism, even  94,751 people arrested with
                                                                                                   though  officers  say  they're  convictions, 6,267 arrests of
                                                                                                   doing largely the same job  those with pending charg-
                                                                                                   they  did  before  the  elec-  es  and  9,086  on  immigra-
                                                                                                   tion — prioritizing criminals.  tion  violations.  There  were
                                                                                                   But they have also stepped  111,104 arrests overall.
                                                                                                   up  arrests  of  people  who  Advocates say a traffic vio-
                                                                                                   have  no  U.S.  criminal  re-  lation shouldn't be enough
                                                                                                   cords.  It  is  those  stories  of  to get you kicked out of the
                                                                                                   ICE  officers  arresting  dads  country.  They  accuse  the
                                                                                                   and  grandmothers  that  agency of stoking fear and
                                                                                                   pepper local news. Officers  tearing families apart.
                                                                                                   are  heckled  and  video-    "You  need  some  kind  of
                                                                                                   taped.  Some  Democratic  agency to deal with immi-
                                                                                                   politicians  have  called  for  gration, but ICE is not that,"
                                                                                                   ICE to be abolished.         New York City Mayor Bill de
                                                                                                   ICE employees have been  Blasio, a Democrat, said on
                                                                                                   threatened at their homes,  radio  station  WNYC.  "ICE's
                                                                                                   their  personal  data  ex-   time has come and gone;
                                                                                                   posed online, officials said.  it  is  broken.  ICE  has  been
                                                                                                   "There  is  a  tension  around  sent on a very negative, di-
                                                                                                   'It  could  be  that  some-  visive mission, and it cannot
                                                                                                   body  could  find  out  what  function the way it is."
                                                                                                   I  do  and  hate  me  for  it  or  In  response,  some  cities
                                                                                                   do worse than hate me for  have  banished  ICE  from
                                                                                                   it,'"  Ronald  Vitiello,  acting  jails where they could easily
                                                                                                   head  of  the  agency,  told  pick  up  immigration  viola-
                                                                                                   The Associated Press.        tors. Police in New York, Bal-
                                                                                                   Vitiello  said  the  agency  is  timore and Seattle rarely, if
                                                                                                   monitoring  social  media  ever,  give  up  information
                                                                                                   and  giving  employees  re-  on  when  suspected  crimi-
                                                                                                   sources for when they feel  nals  in  the  U.S.  illegally  will
                                                                                                   threatened.                  be released from custody.
                                                                                                   ICE, formed after the Sept.  ICE  officers  now  do  more
                                                                                                   11  attacks,  had  been  told  street  operations  and  say
                                                                                                   under the Obama adminis-     they end up with more "col-
                                                                                                   tration  to  focus  on  remov-  lateral arrests," people they
                                                                                                   ing  immigrants  who  had  happen upon who are also
                                                                                                   committed  crimes.  Trump,  in the country illegally. They
                                                                                                   in  one  of  his  first  moves  in  rarely knock on doors any-
                                                                                                   office, directed his adminis-  more,  instead  spending
                                                                                                   tration to target anyone in  hours  surveilling  and  wait-
                                                                                                   the country illegally.       ing  outside.  They  haunt
                                                                                                   Government  data  back  courthouses.
                                                                                                   up that ICE is still mostly tar-
                                                                                                   geting  people  convicted         Continued on Next Page
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