Immigration Arrests Continue Despite Trump’s Remarks That Crackdown Was ‘Too Tough’/ NEWSLOOKS/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Immigration arrests have continued across the United States despite President Donald Trump’s acknowledgment that his enforcement campaign may have been “too tough.” Recent cases include college students detained in Alabama, an asylum-seeking couple arrested in Phoenix and an 8-year-old Haitian boy taken into custody in San Diego. Homeland Security officials say enforcement orders remain unchanged, while advocates report no slowdown following Republicans’ midterm losses.
Quick Look
- Enforcement continues: Advocates reported arrests from California to Michigan and Massachusetts.
- Trump’s comments: The president expressed interest in immigration discussions with Democrats after their election victories.
- Unchanged orders: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, “Deportations will continue.”
- Miller appointment: Trump selected Stephen Miller, a central architect of his immigration agenda, as chief of staff.
- Alabama students: Venezuelan twin brothers with pending asylum cases were detained while returning to college.
- Phoenix arrests: Two Argentine asylum seekers were detained while traveling to a funeral, according to a family friend.
- Child in custody: San Diego school officials raised concerns after an 8-year-old Haitian boy was detained.
- Hospital encounter: Federal officers’ presence outside a Los Angeles emergency department drew protesters and questions.
Deep Look
Immigration Enforcement Continues After Election Defeat
Immigration arrests have continued across the country despite President Donald Trump’s suggestion that his deportation campaign may have gone too far and that he wanted to discuss immigration with Democrats.
Advocates described ongoing detentions following the midterm elections, including arrests during traffic stops, at an airport and during scheduled immigration appointments.
“I’d love to do something on immigration,” Trump said in a CBS “60 Minutes” interview recorded Friday, after Democrats won control of the next Congress.
But the administration has announced no corresponding change in enforcement orders.
Trump also named Stephen Miller, a leading architect of his restrictive immigration agenda, as White House chief of staff.
Homeland Security Says Deportations Will Not Pause
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the day after the election that enforcement would continue without interruption.
“Deportations will continue,” he wrote online, adding that immigration enforcement takes no days off and “this includes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Election Day.”
María Bilbao, a campaign coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in Miami, said she had received at least one call daily from someone detained in South Florida since the election.
“Everything remains exactly the same. The arrests have not ceased at all,” Bilbao said.
Florida Highway Patrol officers and ICE agents have detained people in vehicles and at locations including supermarkets, pharmacies and gas stations. Some immigrants under supervision were arrested when they attended appointments at ICE’s Miami office.
Federal Officers Outside Los Angeles Hospital Draw Protesters
In Los Angeles, masked immigration officers wearing body armor gathered outside Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center early Saturday, blocking an emergency room driveway in a heavily Latino neighborhood.
Nearby resident Erick Gasca, 31, said he noticed an unusually large number of vehicles with tinted windows and no license plates after returning home Friday night.
“I thought they were going to raid the hospital or something,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to explain the officers’ presence. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said agents were bringing a detainee for medical treatment and that two people were arrested for assaulting federal officers.
“ICE does not target hospitals, schools, or churches,” DHS said in a statement.
About 30 residents and passersby gathered. Video recorded by Gasca’s cousin, Michelle Rivera, showed protesters shouting and officers pinning someone down.
President Daniel Fontoura Hospital said the medical center had no role in the operation.
“White Memorial does not participate in immigration enforcement,” he said, adding that such activity would not be allowed to “compromise our commitment to patient care and safety.”
Argentine Couple Arrested While Traveling to Funeral
Gustavo Romanello and Agustin Baccega, a married couple living in Orlando, were arrested Saturday at the Phoenix airport while traveling to attend a friend’s funeral.
Both men are from Argentina and have work permits while pursuing asylum after arriving in the United States about six years ago, according to family friend Jonathan Batchelor.
Batchelor said he was speaking with them by phone when two casually dressed officers approached and asked whether one was Baccega.
He said he heard an officer state, “Asylum seekers are not in the United States legally.”
According to Batchelor, Romanello walked alongside his husband and asked how to retrieve his belongings. Officers then asked his name.
Batchelor said he heard one say, “Oh, do you have another set of handcuffs? This is another one.”
The call ended shortly afterward.
Both men remain detained. Batchelor said they worked as acrobats and had no criminal records. DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“This is just taking good people who have been following the rules out of their lives and out of the lives of those who rely upon them and care about them,” Batchelor said.
Venezuelan Twins Detained on Return to College
Luis and Carlos Orta-Santoro, 19-year-old twins from Venezuelawere detained in central Alabama while returning to college after visiting their parents.
The brothers, who have lived in the United States for four years, play soccer at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.
Relatives said both have pending asylum applications, valid work permits and no criminal records. They are being held in an immigration detention facility.
“Our family is devastated,” said their aunt, Carolina Orta.
DHS said the brothers entered the country legally but subsequently “overstayed in defiance of our laws.” The department said an immigration judge would hear their case and emphasized that pending asylum applications do not themselves confer legal immigration status.
“Both young men are valued members of the Wallace State community, and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time,” the college said. “We sincerely hope for a positive resolution to their situation.”
Haitian Child’s Detention Prompts School Officials’ Concerns
In San Diego, an 8-year-old Haitian boy was taken into custody after attending a Nov. 4 appointment at an ICE office.
He had been living with his uncle since his father was deported last year. The uncle, who brought him to the appointment, is not his legal guardian.
San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Fabi Bagula and school board members wrote to senior administration officials, saying the detention left the child “without the support of their family, community and their school.”
“Children should not lose access to education simply because of circumstances unfolding around them,” they wrote.
ICE defended its actions.
Johny Oxeda, pastor of Fairmount Haitian Community Church, which helped secure legal representation, said the boy would ultimately benefit from proceeding through legal channels.
Advocates strongly disagreed.
“This is not child protection,” said Guerline Jozef of Haitian Bridge Alliance. “This is state-inflicted trauma.”
The cases illustrate the continuing reach of immigration enforcement while Trump’s comments about possible changes have yet to produce an announced policy shift.
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