Advocacy groups say that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are rounding up people in large numbers around the country as part of stepped-up enforcement under President Donald Trump.
They say a roundup in Southern California was intense and cite arrests in places such as Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Texas and North Carolina that have rattled immigrants.
The government says it’s simply enforcing the laws and conducting routine enforcement targeting immigrants in the country illegally with criminal records. Authorities say it’s no different than what happened during the Obama years on a regular basis.
The truth lies somewhere in between. Here are some of the facts surrounding what’s happening with immigration enforcement:
TRUMP VS. OBAMA
As a candidate, Donald Trump vowed to take a hard line on immigration. Five days after taking office, he signed a sweeping executive order that made clear that just about any immigrant living in the country illegally could be a priority for deportation, particularly those with outstanding deportation orders. The president’s order also said enforcement priorities would include convicted criminals, immigrants who had been arrested for any criminal offense, those who committed fraud, and anyone who may have committed a crime.
Under President Barack Obama, the government focused on immigrants in the country illegally who posed a threat to national security or public safety and recent border crossers. But despite the narrower focus, more than 2 million people were deported during Obama’s time in office, including a record of more than 409,000 people in 2012. At one point, he was dubbed the “Deporter in Chief” by his critics.
