The ICE agents had done their homework before they descended on their first target. They learned the 65-year-old Mexican man’s routines.
The man was arrested in August on suspicion of driving under the influence. ICE issued a detainer so that he could be held and retrieved, but the Los Angeles Police Department ignored it, said David Marin, the director of enforcement and removal operations for ICE in L.A. The man had been deported at least three times before, according to ICE, and had been arrested in the past, including more than a decade ago for assault, which resulted in prison time.
But during the height of deportations under Obama, in 2012, immigration officials removed 409,849 foreigners. By comparison, peak removals under Trump occurred this year, with 257,000 as of Sept. 21 — a few days shy of the close of this fiscal year. In an early morning raid, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials raid a van and arrest an individual suspected of being in the country without legal status.
“Immigration has always been political, right? I have seen the pendulum swing to both sides, but in the past few years ... it just seems that it has become so much more controversial,” Marin said. Protesters have rallied across the U.S., demanding that ICE be abolished — calls that have been echoed by several left-leaning politicians. Across the nation, protesters have unfurled banners with the phrase “ABOLISH ICE” over freeway overpasses and famous landmarks.
The LAPD also generally ignores ICE requests to notify the agency when an immigrant is released from custody. Many of these immigrants then end up on a list of targets for the fugitive operations teams. Marin said most arrests happen peacefully, but a growing number involve targets who fight back or try to run away. In some cases, he said, neighbors of people being arrested angrily confront ICE agents.
Standing in the Food 4 Less parking lot, surrounded by agents with vests inscribed with ICE and POLICE, Marin said he wouldn’t be surprised if someone got on social media and the news got out: “ICE is raiding a Food 4 Less.”
Business was better under Obama