Column: Deportations a far cry from the ‘worst of the worst'

Chicago Tribune

5 days ago

First they came for the worst. Then they came for the workers. Now they come for the children.
The administration of President Donald Trump is working overtime to round up as many of the estimated 12 million undocumented residents as they can, but so far they are failing in those efforts. The president campaigned last fall on a vow to round up — which no one has an issue with — the 'worst of the worst' offenders among those living illegally in the U.S.
Yet, the Department of Homeland Security said earlier this month that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have now only deported about 140,000 undocumented immigrants since Trump took office in January. The rush for deportation has found many undocumented immigrants without violent criminal records being caught in ICE dragnets.
Among the latest targets are at least a dozen young people in the Waukegan area, mainly Mexican nationals, who received letters recently from Homeland Security to begin self-deporting. Talk about the lowest of low-hanging fruit.
It's a bitter reminder to those who risked crossing the southern border seeking asylum and safety from villainous cartels. Despite having no criminal records, these teens could be subject to detention and deportation.
While White House 'border czar' Tom Homan has often said the Trump administration's primary focus is on the nastiest of criminal offenders, any undocumented immigrant could be subject to arrest. 'If you're in the country illegally, you are not off the table,' he has said.
This brings us to where we are today: federal agents generating fear across Lake County among many of our hard-working neighbors. 'ICE is terrifying people,' 10th Congressional District Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, told Steve Sadin in a July 23 News-Sun story.
It's a statement echoing throughout the sanctuary state of Illinois. ICE arrests across the nation have soared, averaging 1,200 per day in the first three weeks of June, according to a report by CBS News. Trump officials have pushed the agency to aim for a 3,000 daily headcount of arrests.
Of those deported through June 24, there were 70,583 convicted criminals. Federal data shows that most of the documented crimes were for traffic or immigration offenses.
While Illinois is a sanctuary state, and Lake County and some area communities are quasi-sanctuary entities, it is little comfort to those being eyed by ICE agents who are earning reputations of despotic storm troopers. In some cases, protesters have been keen to protect the undocumented being taken into custody in other locales after being run down and cuffed in farm fields.
Illinois sanctuary policies, which limit the powers of state and local police in assisting federal law enforcement on immigration laws under the state's Trust Act of 2017, were challenged by the Trump administration. A federal judge last week tossed the suit, ruling federal law does not preempt state practices.
Sanctuary may aid in keeping the Waukegan-area teens safe from deportation. According to the July 21 front-page News-Sun story, several of those receiving the DHS deportation letters were granted 'humanitarian parole' to stay in the U.S.
Federal authorities say they are not targeting children, although the letters would certainly invalidate that claim. According to the story, a DHS spokeswoman said such accusations are, 'an attempt to demonize law enforcement.'
Demonizing ICE agents is unnecessary in light of what has been seen across all media platforms. Camouflaged and masked agents roughly grabbing folks randomly off the streets creates fear even for those of us born here.
Which is why some undocumented farm workers and those in the trades want hazardous duty pay. I don't blame them.
The Trump administration through DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has been airing commercials since the president's inauguration for some time on radio, TV and social media, stating that illegal aliens should self-deport before they are nabbed and 'can never return.' Indeed, some are being ratted out by neighbors and still-irate ex-wives.
That is why some of the Waukegan-area minors at first sought their own personal sanctuary in a city church. Fear and anxiety have taken their toll, and some of the teens have returned to their native homelands after living in the U.S. for short terms.
Under the draconian immigration policies put into effect in the first six months of the second Trump administration, it's doubtful the teens will return to the U.S. They thought they were being welcomed to a country that once valued human rights.
They, along with plenty of adults, have found that's no longer true.