ICE confirms plans to arrest more than 2,040 undocumented family members in deportation raids beginning Sunday
KINGSBURG, Calif. (KFSN) -- As part of a tweet, President Trump said Monday, ICE will begin the process of removing millions of illegal immigrants from the United States starting next week.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement's top official told ABC News on Friday that the agency plans to arrest more than 2,040 undocumented family members, adding that "there has to be consequences" to entering the United States illegally.
ICE Acting Director Mark Morgan confirmed the planned enforcement in an interview with ABC News Live.
Other news outlets reported that these raids would start on Sunday in ten major American cities.
Fresno immigration attorney Joshua Longoria sees this as a shift in President Trump's approach to immigration enforcement, serving as a deterrent to families seeking asylum at the border.
"So it seems like the Trump administration is trying to change enforcement priorities to be able to focus on individuals who have prior deportation orders," Longoria said. "Either from an immigration judge saying they've been ordered removed and they have not left yet or it's individuals who have been deported and have still come back and immigration knows that they're here."
Longoria says those who have previously faced deportation orders have less procedural safeguards, so may be removed quicker than someone who is facing deportation for the first time and caught up in the backlog of immigration court cases.
Regardless of their past, Longoria encourages his clients to know their rights. He recommends they keep a card like this in their pocket, which they can show to an ICE officer if stopped.
"They're more of a reminder to the individual to stop talking and just focus on asserting their rights and saying I don't want to speak to you and I want to have an attorney present," he said.
It doesn't matter if Fresno is on ICE's list of upcoming raids, Longoria says they're in the Central Valley, so they'll carry out the same enforcement actions here as anywhere else.
But he's ready to help those being affected. "I tell people never give up hope until the person's physically deported, sometimes even after that there's always hope in their case and just to remain vigilant and fight for their rights," he said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom released a statement today that said in part, "The President's proposed raids are cruel, misdirected and are creating unnecessary fear and anxiety. I want Californians to know they have legal rights and protections, regardless of their immigration status. California is a place of refuge..."
