As ICE Raids Loom, Here's How You Can Help & Support Immigrant Families
byKaitlin Kimont
Amid what many consider to be a mounting humanitarian crisis at the southern border, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is expected to conduct mass raids across several cities this weekend. As such, many immigrant rights advocates are working to share vital messages to ensure undocumented migrants know their rights. But there are also ways concerned citizens can help immigrant families during the ICE raids.
With the goal to arrest and deport, many are concerned the raids will lead to even more family separations. "Cruelty does not make America safer," Sen. Dick Durbin wrote on Twitter on Thursday. "Mass arrests and deportations are only going to create fear in communities across the United States & separate more families & children. We are better than this."
Similar worries and fears surfaced last month; in late June, the Miami Herald reported that immigration officials were planning a "deportation crackdown," but Trump later tweeted that those plans had been stalled. "At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border," he tweeted on June 22. "If not, Deportations start!"
With reports of mass raids and subsequent deportations looming at the moment, there are few ways you can help and support immigrant families right now.
Contact Your Reps
Now is the time make sure your voice and opinions are heard about the treatment of immigrant and asylum-seeking families in the United States and the ongoing humanitarian crisis happening at the border. Contact your representatives (via phone or Twitter, for example) and let them know how you feel about the upcoming ICE raids and urge them to support legislation that protects immigrant families.
Trump told reporters on Friday that the ICE raids will be focused on "criminals," and while the exact cities and exact times they'll be conducted in have not been confirmed, CNN reported that they will occur "over multiple days" and will target "some 2,000 family members." As for the locations, according to the Los Angeles Times, the ICE raids will reportedly be conducted in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, and New Orleans.
Countless immigrant families and those close to them are undoubtedly feeling fearful right now, but know there are people out there advocating for them, and there are some easy ways everyday concerned citizens can help as well.