Members of Congress expressed alarm that all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are at risk of deportation. They said this was made clear to them in a meeting Thursday with a top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.
There are approximately 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.
Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham said that she and other lawmakers left a meeting with ICE Acting Director Tom Homan with a sense that with changes ordered by President Donald Trump through his executive orders, "all immigrant communities are at risk."
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., said in a statement that, "in effect, every undocumented person in America is now vulnerable to arrest and removal as a result of the president's orders."
Jennifer Elzea, an ICE spokeswoman, said in a statement that Homan emphasized in the meeting that ICE "does not conduct arrests indiscriminately" or use checkpoints. Instead, officers target preidentified individuals for arrest at specific locations based on law enforcement leads."
But he also said that when officers encounter individuals in the U.S. in violation of federal immigration laws, they make arrests. "Every arrest is made on a case by case basis," Elzea said.
Rep. Linda Sanchez, a vice chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said that "they said we can and should expect many more arrests and removals this year."
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