They are people. 

Women and children, parents and grandparents, undocumented and documented, refugees and asylum-seekers. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targets target some of our Nation’s hardest workers and the most marginalized among us.

Regardless of how you feel about border security, the reality is many immigrants are here and have lived in the US for years or decades. They have American families. They run American businesses. They serve in the American military. They pay taxes, even those who are undocumented. They also are central to the administration of our local justice systems — serving as police officers, correction officers, witnesses, informants, jurors and first responders. Aggressive, arbitrary and racially-motivated immigration policies damage American institutions.

ICE has been rounding up long-time legal permanent residents regardless of how old their conviction is, whether they were sentenced to any jail time or whether they completed their sentence long ago. ICE also exaggerates or altogether invents gang affiliations to broaden their enforcement umbrella, including targeting the victims of gang violence. ICE went so far as to undermine a long-term FBI investigation into MS-13 by arresting and detaining a former teenage gang member, who was risking his life to help gather evidence for them. 

ICE plugs into state and local law enforcement databases to obtain personal and biometric information about anyone arrested by local police. This lets ICE target immigrants in their homes, workplaces or even by seeking them when they voluntarily appear at their mandatory local court appearances.