On the morning of Sept. 28, 2020, ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement) began their five-day campaign to arrest immigrants in California’s sanctuary cities. There were 128 total arrests and according to Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf, most of these involved criminals. 

In an article from The Washington Post, written by Nick Miroff, Wolf said, “Those arrested in California included immigrants convicted of homicide, sexual assault and other serious crimes, without offering a breakdown of how many of those arrested were violent offenders. The agency will continue to target criminals, he said, ‘with or without the help of local political leaders.’ ”

The operation focused solely on criminals who had committed crimes. According to Buzzfeed News, in an article written by Hamed Aleaziz, this is because “local officials refuse to hold immigrants in their custody who are wanted by ICE for longer than required by local laws or to inform ICE of when the immigrants will be released from custody.”

Berta Barillas, who works at Voces de La Frotera, a leading immigrant rights and low-wage workers center here in Milwaukee, explains the importance of sanctuary cities in California and other border states. “Sanctuary cities exist because community activists have played a major role in keeping families from being separated.  They have been labeled as sanctuaries because they have made it public that the specific city or county will not collaborate with ICE,” she said.

Barillas discusses the reasons why the arrest of these individuals is considered dangerous and unlawful. “In order for ICE to arrest an individual, they must have a warrant for that person with the specific crime that they are wanted for.  A raid does not comply with that policy.  A raid puts many people in danger and could lead to trauma if there are children present,” said Barillas. “A raid is not usually done in a civil or peaceful manner.  It usually involves a chaotic scenario by ICE agents (who are armed) pounding on doors, breaking down doors, shouting loudly and “rounding up” individuals who may not committed any crime at all. 

In an article written by Lisa Fernandez on the Fox32 website, Almas Sayeed, deputy director of programs at the California Immigrant Policy Center,  said that she doesn’t believe that everyone arrested had a criminal past. “ Sanctuary cities already are supposed to share information about violent offenders with ICE, and in fact, she believes that many local sheriffs “overshare” information that they shouldn’t.” 

She also adds more reasons why she disagrees with this operation throughout the article.“They[progressive activists] also take issue with the entire criminal justice system and how it negatively affects poor people and those of color, wondering if those convicted are actually guilty or just couldn’t afford a proper defense,” she said.

Barillas voiced her opinion on whether or not the immigrants arrested were criminals, “When officials publicly stated that they detained criminals, I believe that was a play to the camera. In this specific case, there were no warrants presented.  Why was the procedure not followed?  Why didn’t a judge issue these warrants?” said Barillas. “What happens to those detained that are not criminals; that are law-abiding citizens who work hard everyday to provide for their families?  They will most likely be deported for not having committed a violent crime though there was no warrant out for their arrest.  

Barillas also adds how this goes deeper than just the immigrants arrested. “That person’s family will suffer, will have a hard time paying the rent or buying groceries, the spouse may become overwhelmed by having to be a single parent all of a sudden,” she said “The children may start having issues with their peers, may start failing academically which could lead to more youth becoming depressed in the United States.”

Multiple people argue that in sanctuary cities, the crime rate is higher and puts its citizens more at risk. According to the Fox32 website, reports show that this is false; “sanctuary policies either have no effect on crime or that sanctuary cities have lower crime rates and stronger economies than comparable non-sanctuary cities.”

People have expressed their disagreement about how this raid was conducted and whether or not it contained just criminals but it was carried out in a sanctuary city. When undocumented immigrants live in a sanctuary city they are protected from getting deported or detained by ICE. In The Washington Post article it states that ICE was specifically targeting sanctuary cities and that it is, “part of an operation with a publicity effort crafted to match President Trump’s campaign attacks on Democratic mayors.”

Also, in the same Washington Post article, Wolf said that it was ‘phase one’ of a wider operation expanding to other cities. According to a Philly Voice article, Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco may be among the cities the operation expands to.

Most activists agree that this was a purely political move and weren’t at all justified in raiding a sanctuary city. “This was politically motivated to show those who are anti-immigrant that the current administration is ‘doing something about this immigration problem’,” said Barillas. She also added that immigrants are vital to the United States. “Immigrants, whether documented or not, have proven to be the essential workers of this country.  They make up the majority of workers in the service industries who we rely on a daily basis and who we definitely relied on during the Covid Shutdown,” she said.

“Although there were many fears when we first shut down, as a society we were never without meat, without vegetables, without toilet paper.  And that’s because immigrants never stopped working, they continued to show up at the meat-packing houses, at the farms and at the factories.  As a matter of fact, the U.S. recruited workers from Mexico when the shutdown first happened so that it could avoid an economic disaster, ” Braillas added.

The Washington Post also said, “Trump has repeatedly promoted ICE operations during his presidency, while falling far short of his promise to summarily deport between 2 million and 3 million undocumented immigrants. The president has been so eager to show action on the issue that he tipped off a major ICE operation last year targeting Central American families who arrived during a record wave of migration by parents with children in 2019. That effort was intended to take thousands of immigrant parents and children into custody, but it ended up falling far short of the goal.” This adds to the fact that it was most likely politically motivated.

This raid was also conducted during a pandemic which has greatly impacted the world and life as we know it. Many people were concerned about how safe this raid was and if it should have even been conducted at all. In a FOX32 article, it says that House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Chair U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, was upset with the raids and wrote a letter to ICE. In it she wrote, “I am deeply disturbed that ICE is spending government dollars and putting lives at risk in furtherance of what is described as a political messaging campaign, when the agency has failed to take adequate measures to protect detainees, and the surrounding communities, from COVID-19.” 

Barillas adds the risks to conduct a raid in a pandemic and how it could help the virus spread even more, “To conduct a raid during the pandemic was not only dangerous but unethical.  The detained will now have to endure a waiting period at an enclosed facility which is more apt for the virus to spread quickly and infect those who will have no access to healthcare. The virus will then travel with those infected to another country and most likely continue to spread.  

“I don’t believe these factors were considered when trying to decide if a raid was necessary at this moment in time.  This leads me to believe this was a political stunt so that the candidate who says he is tough on immigration can be elected for four more years,” she said.

Even though the raids took place in California, it impacted many people, including people in Greendale, Wisconsin. Immigrants come here to start a better life for their families. Their home countries may be ridden with war and disease and sexism and they come here to be free. Now, they have to worry about being deported back to a country they might have not been in since they were a child.