By Ed Diokno
Views from the Edge
LATEST STORIES
One memo instructs ICE agents to ignore Obama’s memos on immigration priorities that targeted only recent arrivals and convicted criminal migrants for deportation. Instead, migrants who simply have been charged with crimes but not convicted would be prioritized for deportation. The guidelines also allows ICE agents wide discretion in deciding who to deport and considers anyone in the United States illegally to be subject to deportation.
The Trump Administration has outlined a mass deportation regime targeting all immigrants, including those on student visas, work visas, and the undocumented, for deportation enforcement, stated the lawyers of Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
The AAAJ statement also said the memos greatly increase the probability of tearing mothers and fathers from their children, leaving families with no main breadwinner, and forcing those who remain to pick up the pieces left behind from inhumane policies and enforcement efforts.
“The enforcement memo seeks to promote fear of immigrants and orders the ICE Director to take funds from programs used to serve any undocumented immigrants – including immigrants who are trafficked and victims of crime – to this new office that will only further demonize immigrants and stir up hatred,” says the AAAJ statement.
There is one ray of hope in the memos — they leave in place Obama’s 2012 executive action that protected 750,000 people brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents. The fate of the policy, known as DACA, has been hotly debated within the White House, according to Reuters. Trump said in a news conference Friday that DACA was a “very difficult subject” for him.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. You can show your support by liking our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/asamnews, following us on Twitter, sharing our stories, interning or joining our staff.