With conflict in the Middle East seemingly reaching its conclusion, the American public is shifting its attention back to President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. Tensions are still high, with deportation efforts meeting resistance, especially in major metropolitan hubs like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City. Here are the latest immigration updates.
‘Alligator Alcatraz’
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has greenlit the use of a new detention center in Florida to house illegal immigrants slated for deportation. Nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the detention center will repurpose the largely-unused Miami-Dade Collier Training Facility in the Everglades. DHS official Tricia McLaughlin reported that the facility will be composed of “large tents,” providing space to house at least 5,000 illegal immigrants at a time. The area is surrounded by dangerous wildlife, including alligators and pythons.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are working at turbo speed to deliver cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate for mass deportations of criminal illegal aliens,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a social media post.
She continued, “These new facilities will in large part be funded by FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program, which the Biden administration used as a piggy bank to spend hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars to house illegal aliens, including at the Roosevelt Hotel that served as a Tren de Aragua base of operations and was used to shelter Laken Riley’s killer.”
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) said that the location chosen for “Alligator Alcatraz” is ideal “because you don’t need to invest that much in the perimeter. People get out and there’s not much waiting for them other than alligators and pythons — nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.” He added, “I’m proud to help support President Trump and Secretary Noem in their mission to fix our illegal immigration problem once and for all. Alligator Alcatraz and other Florida facilities will do just that.”
The Trump administration has already repurposed detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay to house illegal immigrants prior to deportation, yielding the capacity to house at least 30,000 at a time. Border czar Tom Homan has previously stressed the importance of receiving further funding from Congress for the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. “We’re out of money,” Homan reported in March. He explained, “When we run out of beds, it means we stop interior enforcement operations, because when we arrest somebody, [we’ve] gotta have a bed to put them in for removal.” The border czar added, “Congress does — they need to get us the funding we need so this administration can keep the promises they made to the American people. I think the president was given a mandate: illegal immigration was the number one issue in the campaign.”
Raiding California
Earlier this month, the president federalized California’s National Guard to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents carrying out immigration raids in Los Angeles. With much of the violence now having subsided, some National Guard soldiers were detailed to assist the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and ICE in raids on three illegal marijuana-growing facilities in the Coachella Valley. At least 70 illegal immigrants were arrested. While executing search warrants, federal forces found two men at the facilities padlocked inside a trailer in 122-degree heat.
The anti-deportation riots which prompted the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops and Marines to L.A. have since spread to other areas, with riots and protests appearing in Anchorage, Arkansas; Atlanta; Austin; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Huntington Beach, California; Las Vegas; Minneapolis; New York City; Omaha, Nebraska; Peoria, Arizona; Portland; Riverside, California; San Antonio, Texas; San Francisco; Santa Ana, California; Seattle; and Spokane, Washington.
According to the New York Post, Republican lawmakers have launched an investigation into the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), accusing the nonprofit of funding the riots in L.A. The legislators wrote in a letter that they have “concerns that CHIRLA may be using federal funds to support violent criminal activity that impedes the enforcement of federal immigration law.” Another report has suggested that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating Cynthia Gonzalez, vice mayor of L.A. County-area city Cudahy, for apparently calling on Hispanic gangs to combat ICE agents in L.A.
Resistance on ICE
Despite the protests, the majority of Americans still support ICE — and Trump’s plans for deportations. A June Economist/YouGov survey found that 52% of American voters say it should be illegal to impede ICE operations, with 24% saying it should be illegal to do so and another 24% “unsure.” A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that 83% of likely voters said that deporting illegal immigrants who continued to commit crimes after entering the country was an important issue, including 57% who rated the issue “very important.” Additionally, 58% said that “sanctuary” cities, which refuse to investigate immigration status or cooperate with ICE, increase threats to public safety.
This month’s Harvard CAPS/Harris survey also found that 80% support deporting illegal immigrants who continued to commit crimes after entering the country, while 68% opposed impeding ICE operations.
AUTHOR
S.A. McCarthy
S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.
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