U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) starts its nationwide sweep today of people in the country illegally. The target of the raid is illegal immigrants who have missed a court date or have a court-mandate to be removed from the country.
ICE will execute these raids in ten cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Houston, Chicago, New York, Baltimore, Atlanta, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami.
“It starts on Sunday, and they’re going to take people out, and they’re going to bring them back to their countries, or they’re going to take criminals out — put them in prison or put them in prison in the countries they came from,” President Donald Trump said.
Even though no places in Minnesota are listed, it is not stopping organizations and politicians from telling people how to deal with ICE.
For example, Minnesota’s ACLU provided a link to ACLU’s main website telling illegal immigrants what their rights are if they encounter the agency.
“Stay calm and do not resist or obstruct the agents or officers. Do not lie or give false documents. Prepare yourself and your family in case you are arrested. Memorize the phone numbers of your family and your lawyer. Make emergency plans if you have children or take medication.”
Your rights explained–this time, with high production value.https://t.co/44IrESjlo1
— ACLU of Minnesota (@ACLUMN) July 12, 2019
Politicians like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison tweeted to show their support for illegal immigrants.
Omar started a thread detailing what to do when ICE raids begin.
“These raids will dehumanize immigrants and tear families apart. This will not make our country any stronger. It will only traumatize children, destroy lives, and make our country less safe” she said.
These raids will dehumanize immigrants and tear families apart. This will not make our country any stronger. It will only traumatize children, destroy lives, and make our country less safe.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 11, 2019
Ellison, meanwhile, assured immigrants in Minnesota they would be safe.
“The President’s cruelty to immigrant children & families violates Minnesotans’ sense of decency. As AG, I want you to know that regardless of your immigration status, you have legal & constitutional rights, this weekend & always. Know them & exercise them,” he tweeted.
The President’s cruelty to immigrant children & families violates Minnesotans’ sense of decency. As AG, I want you to know that regardless of your immigration status, you have legal & constitutional rights, this weekend & always. Know them & exercise them. https://t.co/qqTSGUPfYR
— Attorney General Keith Ellison (@AGEllison) July 12, 2019
Back in June, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fray, Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo released a statement on the then-delayed ICE raids.
“This news makes people scared, we know this. The City of Minneapolis condemns any actions that would put our residents and families at risk or actions that instill fear in our community,” the statement said. “The City of Minneapolis is a welcoming city that believes all people, including immigrants, are valuable contributors to society, vital to the success of our communities and to our shared future.”
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of Battleground State News. Follow Zachery on Twitter.
[…] recently, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who supports doing away with ICE entirely, tweeted out advice on how to avoid its agents. And as of this month, all this grandstanding and virtue-signaling has turned into outright […]