Late last week, The Washington Post dropped news of planned immigration raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These raids would reportedly start in early 2016 and earmark families for deportation. This plan “would be the first large-scale effort to deport families who have fled violence in Central America.”
Naturally, Latin American groups are not pleased about this news and have asked President Obama to halt the plans for humanitarian reasons. These groups can rest a little easier knowing that the Department of Homeland Security has not yet delivered “final approval” for the raids. Still, the number of targeted families “is expected to be in the hundreds and possibly greater.”
Several presidential candidates have weighed in on the reported raids. On the GOP side, it should come as little surprise that Donald Trump’s controversial thoughts on immigration have not changed. In fact, Trump seems to believe these raids are happening “because of me.”
Does everyone see that the Democrats and President Obama are now, because of me, starting to deport people who are here illegally. Politics!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 25, 2015
Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have not yet spoken directly on the matter. However, Cruz recently fired shots at Rubio over immigration, so their potential reactions are of interest. In addition, Rubio’s ever-morphing immigration stance has landed him in hot water with voters.
On the left side of the political spectrum, several candidates added their opinions. In a statement, Hillary Clinton took a firm stance against the raids:
“Hillary Clinton has real concerns about these reports, especially as families are coming together during this holiday season. She believes it is critical that everyone has a full and fair hearing, and that our country provides refuge to those that need it. And we should be guided by a spirit of humanity and generosity as we approach these issues”
Bernie Sanders tweeted that he is “very disturbed” by the plans:
Very disturbed by reports that the government may commence raids to deport families who've fled here to escape violence in Central America.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 24, 2015
Sanders later tweeted a longer statement, which included the following sentiment:
“As we spend time with our families this holiday season, we who are parents should ask ourselves what we would do if our children faced the danger and violence these children do? How far would we go to protect them?”
Likewise, Martin O’Malley condemns any notion of immigration raids as “wrong.”
.@DHSgov holiday plans for raids to round up/deport Central American refugees fleeing death are wrong. We are a better nation than this.
— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) December 24, 2015
(Via Washington Post)