海角大神

Last week, in the middle of a nationwide immigration sweep, federal agents surrounded an El Paso, Texas, county courtroom, a place where victims of domestic violence 鈥� women, mostly 鈥� go to obtain orders of protection against their abusers.

Their target: an undocumented transgender woman. A survivor of numerous beatings from her live-in boyfriend, the woman, who court documents show had a history of criminal convictions and previous deportations, was seeking help. She had just been granted an order of protection before agents took her by the arm, escorted her outside, and took her into custody.

It鈥檚 a case that has shocked and outraged El Paso county officials, who called the enforcement action in their courtroom an unprecedented federal intrusion into a space meant to ensure their community鈥檚 public safety. Immigration advocates see it as another sign that the Trump administration plans to widen the scope of its priorities as it aggressively seeks to find and deport a wide range of the nation鈥檚 estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just not tolerable,鈥� said El Paso District Attorney Jaime Esparza, during a phone conference with reporters on Thursday. 鈥淲e have really worked very hard in this community to reach out to victims of domestic violence to come forward, to make sure that they have access to law enforcement and the courthouse, and this puts a horrible chilling effect on this whole effort.鈥�

Officials said no one could recall an incident in which immigration authorities entered a courtroom during a proceeding, posting agents inside and at each exit.

鈥淎nd especially not in a courtroom that is reserved for victims of domestic violence,鈥� said county attorney Jo Anne Bernal.

鈥淭his is not who we are,鈥� said El Paso County Judge Veronica Escobar. 鈥淲hat happened last week is not who we are as a community, and it鈥檚 not who we are as a nation. This is unacceptable.鈥�

The incident 鈥� and the broader immigration sweep 鈥� has unleashed a visceral debate over where the line should be drawn between humane ideals and the letter of the law.

While the Obama administration carried out immigration raids much larger than the ones last week, it had a careful policy of prioritizing criminals, as well as听 that made exceptions for some family situations and also an immigrant鈥檚 鈥渟tatus as a victim.鈥� In many cases, immigration officials followed a 鈥渃atch and release鈥� policy.

So far, it appears the Trump administration is setting aside such humanitarian considerations. While the听 signed in the first week of Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidency maintains a focus on undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes, it classifies nearly every undocumented immigrant as a priority, without listing any discretionary guidelines for possible exemptions.

Fulfilling a campaign promise

It鈥檚 a hard line that many Americans and immigration analysts support wholeheartedly. And as the president himself noted, it fulfills the promises of his signature issue during the campaign.

鈥淚n a real prioritization system, the 鈥榖ad hombres鈥� are job one,鈥� says Mark Krikorian, executive director of The Center for Immigration Studies, a research organization in Washington that supports the administration鈥檚 more aggressive approach to enforcement. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 not where it ends.鈥� When immigration agents target known criminals, he says, they should also arrest any 鈥渃ollaterals,鈥� or other unauthorized immigrants discovered during the course of its sweeps.

鈥淵es, there has to be, and always is, some wiggle room in the law,鈥� says Mr. Krikorian. 鈥淭he problem is, we鈥檝e had nothing but wiggle room for eight years. And now the very concept of enforcing the law against anybody is considered an outrage, and frankly, you鈥檙e a convicted felon 鈥� you don鈥檛 have a lot to complain about.鈥�

In January, after signing his executive order at the Department of Homeland Security, Trump told immigration officials that they would now be enforcing the law more vigorously.

鈥淔or too long your offices and agents haven鈥檛 been allowed to properly do their jobs,鈥� the president said. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 all about to change...From here on out, I鈥檓 asking all of you to enforce the laws of the United States of America. They will be enforced and enforced strongly.鈥�

On Friday, that the administration was considering using up to 100,000 members of the National Guard to help detain undocumented immigrants, according to a draft Homeland Security memo obtained by the AP. White House press secretary Sean Spicer emphatically denied the report, calling it "100 percent not true," but said he could not absolutely deny that the proposal had ever been discussed.

Regardless, the administration has deployed expansive priorities and aggressive tactics. They have led to the deportation of an undocumented mother of two US-born children, who had checked in with immigration authorities in Phoenix each of the past eight years. Though convicted of using a false Social Security number, she was not considered a priority for deportation since she had been in the country since she was 14 and had obeyed instructions since then. When she checked in this time, however, she was deported to Mexico.

鈥淏ut she鈥檚 not separated from her children, because her children should be going with their mom,鈥� says Krikorian, who says humanitarian exemptions should only be determined by a judge and based on federal law. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason they can鈥檛 live with her. She never saw the United States until she was a teenager, so what鈥檚 so shocking that her children should be with their mom in a country they hadn鈥檛 seen either?鈥�

Arrest of a 'DREAMer'

Yet many argue that the ripple effects of such an aggressive policy will only send undocumented immigrants underground.

This week, an undocumented mother of four in Denver, Jeanette Vizguerra, skipped her own appointment with immigration officials, instead seeking refuge in the .

And advocates reacted with alarm after ICE agents arrested a 23-year-old undocumented immigrant in Seattle, Daniel Ramirez Medina, father of a three-year-old son and a recipient of the Obama administration鈥檚 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Officials said he was a self-admitted gang member, which his attorneys vehemently deny, pointing out that he had been vetted twice by immigration officials, who gathered his biometric data and twice conducted criminal background checks.

鈥淲hen ICE detained Daniel, the Trump administration betrayed the promise that the federal government made to Daniel and everyone else with DACA,鈥� said Marielena Hincapie, executive director the Los Angeles-based , in a phone conference with reporters on Wednesday. 鈥淭his betrayal is dangerous not just for him, but for all of us. It undermines our faith in the promises that the federal government makes to all of us to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.鈥�

Reacting to the new aggressive enforcement landscape, a spontaneous call for a nationwide 鈥渄ay without immigrants鈥� led to thousands of immigrant workers, both documented and undocumented, to stay home from work or school on Thursday.

Spreading virally on the social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp, the protest happened without the help of any advocacy organizations.

'Already had their time in court'

Yet even as advocates worry that the Trump administration鈥檚 aggressive approach to immigration enforcement could force undocumented workers underground, critics note that the undocumented transgender woman in El Paso had been deported numerous times and had herself been arrested for serious crimes, including possession of stolen mail and assault, , which first reported the woman鈥檚 arrest.

鈥淚f you can鈥檛 agree to have those people deported, those who have already had their time in court and have been deported, I don鈥檛 know what you can agree on,鈥� says Marguerite Telford, director of communications at The Center for Immigration Studies. 鈥淎t some point, the safety of American citizens should come into play. At some point there needs to be some balance of the victims who get so little attention.鈥�

Attorney General Esparza doesn鈥檛 disagree, noting that El Paso county jails regularly honor federal detainer requests and turn over undocumented immigrants in custody. 听

Yet he and other officials remain outraged at the 鈥渦nprecedented鈥� aggressive actions of the ICE agents who decided to stake out a domestic violence hearing. Nevertheless, according to the agency鈥檚 website, courthouses are explicitly not include among the agents are instructed to avoid when carrying out enforcement actions, such as schools, places of worship, and even public demonstrations. 听

'They came into the courthouse'

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it matters what your status is in the country, I think everyone has the right to be free of violence and to live in a safe community,鈥� Esparza said. 鈥淢y main concern is that they came into the courthouse. And I think that sends a horrible message to the victims of domestic violence whether or not they鈥檙e actually going to have the ability to seek justice in our courthouse.鈥�

Officials, too, have who apprehended the woman. The agents鈥� account makes no mention of entering the county courthouse, but describes approaching her on the sidewalk before making the arrest.

The officials are scheduled to meet with Congressman Beto O鈥橰ourke and ICE officials on Friday, and they plan to bring up what appears to be a misleading account of agents鈥� actions, county attorney Bernal said. She added that since the only other person who had been informed of the hearing was the woman鈥檚 abuser, it seems likely that he was the one who tipped off the agency.

Local domestic violence advocates also decried the agency鈥檚 actions on Thursday.

鈥淔or persons who are survivors of violence and are undocumented, it鈥檚 even harder for them to reach out,鈥� said Stephanie Karr, executive director of the Center Against Sexual & Family Violence in El Paso, who also joined the conference call with reporters on Thursday.

鈥淎nd while we continue to encourage them to do that, we are afraid that the result of the action of agents at our courthouse is that those individuals who may gather enough courage to come forward may be increasingly reluctant to do so, because of fear of being deported,鈥� she said.