As Trump increases immigration raids, some migrants go to clandestinity

A sense of fear and restlessness is undulating through the communities of American immigrants as the Trump administration increases the arrests of undocumented migrants, which obtain criminals and those without criminal records alike.

Federal officers have arrested thousands of undocumented migrants since Donald Trump assumed the position on January 20, increasing raids in cities throughout the country, including Chicago, New York, Denver and Los Angeles.

On Tuesday, the White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that while criminal arrests will be prioritized, no one in the country is illegally “out of the table.”

In some communities, arrests have led some migrants to skip their work or keep their children at school home.

More than 3,500 undocumented migrants have been arrested since Trump returned to the White House, including just over 1,000 on Tuesday, 969 on Monday and 1,179 on Sunday, according to daily statistics published by the Immigration and Customs Control (ICE).

In comparison, an average of 310 was made during fiscal year 2024, when Joe Biden was in office, according to the agency.

Immigration officials have described these raids as “specific application operations” that have resulted in the arrest of violent gang members and dangerous suspects, and have deployed agents from other federal law agencies to help intensify the arrests .

“I have not seen anything remotely like this, and they are just the first days of the presidency,” said Gina Amato Lough, director of California for the Right Immigrant project, a group of immigration defense. “Nothing of this magnitude.”

Mrs. Lough added that the “declared intention is to create shock and amazement.”

“It’s working,” he said. “It is also creating terror in the community.”

The White House and Ice have published some of these arrests, showing photos of the suspects and providing details of their countries of origin and crimes, which have included sexual crimes, aggressions and drug trafficking crimes.

But the White House has made it clear that any undocumented migrant trapped in these raids, whether criminals or not, are subject to arrests and deportation, although simply being illegally in the United States is a civil issue.

Earlier this week, the White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said “all of them” are criminals.

“They illegally broke the laws of our nation and, therefore, criminals are far from this administration,” journalists told Tuesday.

Arrests have already had a chilling effect on many immigrants in the United States.

Mrs. Lough, for example, said that undocumented clients have expressed the fear of going to any government agency, even to obtain a driver’s license, or seek medical care in hospitals.

“We are listening that people are terrified, and we are receiving calls from left to right,” said Michael Lukens, executive director of the Amica Immigrant Rights Center, an organization that provides free legal representation to undocumented migrants arrested by the authorities.

“People are afraid to go to work, or send their children to schools,” he said, adding that the Trump administration has blocked the efforts of their organization to enter the detention centers to meet with the detainees.

“That is exactly what the White House wants: instill the fear of people and make them leave,” he said. “That is not something we have seen.”

Among those who have expressed fear are Gabriela, a Bolivian migrant who entered the United States more than 20 years ago, which hid under a pile of corn stems in the boot of the case of a smuggler on the trip.

Now a key to Maryland, Gabriela Initially he was not worried about Trump’s electoral victorybelieving that it would only attack criminals and that many migrants would benefit from an improved economy.

But nine days after administration, he says he is afraid, along with many of his neighbors, after seeing that the ice had carried out operations in the nearby communities.

“Many people in my building have stopped sending their children to schools. No one goes to church now,” he told the BBC. “We are tuning in dough online.”

Gabriela said she has begun to pack her belongings with the hope that, if arrest and deported, the acquaintances could send them back to Bolivia.

Another undocumented migrant, a Mexican citizen named Carlos who lives in New York City, told the BBC that concerns about possible arrests have led some underground.

“We hear that the ice reached a building not far from me,” said Carlos, whose son is an American citizen born in New York.

Like Gabriela, Carlos was initially cautiously optimistic about Trump’s electoral victory and thought would indirectly benefit from Trump’s promises to boost the economy and lower inflation.

“It’s scary. I have been avoiding being in the street more than I need,” he added. “I have no problem with the arrested criminals. But we continue to listen that other people, the workers, are also being carried.”

Both Gabriela and Carlos asked to be identified only by their names, fearing the remuneration or attention of the authorities.

It is not clear how many of those arrested have a criminal record and how many are what have been what Trump’s first administration called “collateral” arrests.

NBC has reported that on January 26, only 52% of detainees in custody were considered “criminal arrests”, citing administration officials.

The BBC has contacted the White House to comment on the figures.

When asked about the number at a press conference on Tuesday, Mrs. Leavitt said only anyone who “broke the laws of our nation” is a criminal.