Trump recasts immigration by taking 'shackles off' border agents
| Atlanta and Tucson, Ariz.
Minutes after Daniela Vargas spoke to the press in Jackson, Miss., on Wednedsay, the car in which she was riding slowed down and pulled over. The uniformed men who came to the door reportedly said, 鈥淵ou know who we are, and why we are here.鈥�
She did.
Ms. Vargas, a 20-something who came to the United States from Argentina as a 7-year-old, had last month seen immigration agents detain the rest of her family. As it turns out, she had been late in sending in a $495 renewal fee for the Obama-era program that allows some young undocumented immigrants like her to stay in the country 鈥� prompting her detention Wednesday.
Her detention provides a poignant glimpse into what immigration experts call a more personal, even vindictive, style of enforcement intended to assert muscular new federal authority over immigrant communities.
For its part, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) called the detention of Vargas routine, and says its tactics haven鈥檛 changed markedly under President Trump. But Rep. Bennie Thompson (D) of Mississippi called the treatment of Vargas, a musician and aspiring teacher, 鈥渁nything but鈥� routine.
To be sure, Mr. Trump has vowed to reshape America鈥檚 position toward illegal immigration. But the incidents like the one in Mississippi this week might be happening less because of a grand Trump plan, and more as a result of what happens when, as Press Secretary Sean Spicer put it, America 鈥渢akes the shackles off鈥� federal agents.
The nation鈥檚 6,500 ICE special agents fought President Obama for eight years and even sued him over the program that allowed Vargas to stay in the country legally, known as DACA.
They 鈥渉ave long chafed under the idea that they can鈥檛 do the job they think they鈥檙e supposed to do,鈥� says Rick Su, an immigration expert at the University at Buffalo School of Law in New York. 鈥淎nd now Trump has told them, 鈥楧o whatever job you want to do. We鈥檙e not here to question your judgment.鈥� 鈥�
The result so far has been a building parade of human drama and whip-tails of policy-in-action, testing America鈥檚 welcome stance toward immigrants and visitors.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing is something that on one hand is more broad and at the same time, at least anecdotally, more selective 鈥� in a different way 鈥� in terms of the potential targeting of people that seem to be activists,鈥� says Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas in Austin. 鈥淭hat is being denied officially, but certainly the impression is growing that there has been a kind of unshackling [of deportation agents]. Whether it鈥檚 by central directive or local fiat, there is more targeting going on.鈥�
A markedly different approach
The Vargas arrest came amid growing concerns among the 750,000 young people who came out of the shadows to apply for DACA 鈥� Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It allows some undocumented immigrants who entered the US as children to apply for renewable two-year deportation deferrals.
Ironically, from the Department of Homeland Security say that DACA will remain in force. But in finding a loophole to detain Vargas, immigration agents highlighted their broad new authority under those memos.
The Obama administration carried out large immigration raids, too 鈥� to the point where some immigrant groups derisively called Mr. Obama the 鈥渄eporter-in-chief.鈥� Yet the Obama administration laid out a careful guidelines that prioritized the removal of criminals while making humanitarian exceptions for family situations and an immigrant鈥檚 鈥渟tatus as a victim.鈥�
Among the beneficiaries of Obama鈥檚 approach was Jesus Moroyoqui, a landscaper and father of three US-born children in Tucson, Ariz. He has lived here for 20 years and has been deported to Mexico previously, but the last time he landed in immigration detention after a traffic stop, he was allowed to stay.
Immigration enforcement these days, however, feels 鈥渕ore aggressive,鈥� leaving him anxious, he tells the Monitor.
Indeed, there are indications that immigration agents are going to new lengths to pick off 鈥渓ow-hanging fruit,鈥� as Professor Su says.
Last month, Daniel Ramirez Medina, a DACA recipient, was detained in Seattle after ICE agents showed up at his house to detain his father, who is here illegally. US authorities claimed that Mr. Medina had admitted to being a gang member. His lawyers dispute that, and have now sued the federal government, claiming that they have no constitutional right to detain the young man.
Also last month, ICE agents acted with unusual boldness when they entered a courthouse in El Paso, Texas, to detain a transgender woman trying to get a restraining order against an abuser. While the woman had a criminal record and had been deported before, the decision by agents to enter a courthouse was 鈥渦nacceptable,鈥� El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar told reporters.
DACA in limbo
In this atmosphere, DACA recipients feel in limbo, both with promises of protection 鈥� with Trump calling them 鈥渋ncredible kids鈥� who he wants to treat with 鈥済reat heart鈥� 鈥� but also doubts about the strength of such promises.
鈥淐ompared to other immigration priorities that Trump has set in place, DACA exists in this strange realm,鈥� says Su.
Picking up activists and others who seem to thumb their nose at authorities may be particularly attractive, he says.听In that light, Vargas鈥檚 鈥渂razenness鈥� turned the situation into 鈥渁 personal sort of power dynamic.鈥�
ICE did not return emailed inquiries about the arrest. In a statement, an ICE spokesman confirmed that immigration officials took Vargas, 鈥渁n unlawfully present Argentinian citizen,鈥� into custody Wednesday 鈥渄uring a targeted immigration enforcement action鈥澛燼fter the agency verified that her DACA status had lapsed.
Immigration agents are not all supportive of ramped-up enforcement. The fact-checking site Politifact found Trump鈥檚 assertion that he was 鈥渦nanimously endorsed鈥� by border agents But perhaps no other corner of the federal bureaucracy fought Obama as furiously, with both unions regularly condemning his moves to shape immigration policy.
Calling Trump鈥檚 moves 鈥渟wift and decisive,鈥� ICE union head Chris Crane wrote last month that the president鈥檚 policies will 鈥渕ake America safer and more prosperous.鈥� Additionally, he said, morale among agents has 鈥渋ncreased exponentially.鈥�
Lining up for a piece of paper
Immigrant groups have noticed. In Tucson on Thursday night, undocumented immigrants queued up to receive notarized legal forms that would ensure access to a lawyer if they鈥檙e detained.
Blanca Sanchez, a Mexico native who has lived in the US without legal status for about 15 years, says carrying the form with her at all times will help her feel more secure.
鈥淭here have always been raids, but things seem to be getting tougher,鈥� she says.
As they filed out of the meeting room, youngsters, women, and men clutched the legal forms and yellow posters that said: 鈥淒o not enter without a lawful search warrant.鈥�
Vargas, for her part, wonders why 鈥� after successfully applying for a work permit in 2012 and 2014 under DACA 鈥� her honest attempts to renew her status were turned on her at the very moment she spoke up.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand why they don鈥檛 want me,鈥� she said in . 鈥淚鈥檓 doing the best I can. I mean, I can鈥檛 help that I was brought here [and that] I don鈥檛 know anything else besides being here. I didn鈥檛 realize that until I was in a holding cell last night for 5 hours.鈥�
She is set to be deported without a hearing, .听
