WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has instructed Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to halt raids and arrests in the
agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants, by significantly shifting the
direction on mass deportation campaign, according to a media report.
According to The New York Times report, the move was made
as the mass deportation campaign hurt industries and constituencies that
President Trump doesn't want to lose, which is the central focus of his
Presidency.
The report suggested that Tatum King, a senior ICE
official, had sent an email on Thursday to regional leaders of the ICE
department issuing the directive.
"Effective today, please hold on all work site
enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and
meat packing plants), restaurants, and operating hotels," read the
message.
However, the email mentioned continuing investigations
which involve "human trafficking, money laundering, and drug smuggling
into these industries."
Additionally, it directed the agents not to take anyone
into the custody of "noncriminal collaterals," referring to people
who are undocumented but have no criminal records.
The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed the
recent developments.
"We will follow the President's direction and
continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of
America's streets," Tricia McLaughlin, a department spokeswoman, said in a
statement.
The directive came after agents from Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies raided
several locations in southern California, which sparked mass protests.
Earlier this week, a protest against immigration raids in
Santa Ana, 50 km east of downtown Los Angeles, resulted in several injuries and
arrests after demonstrators clashed with federal authorities and local police.
The protest was triggered by US Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) raids during the day across Santa Ana, the capital of Orange
County, with a population of over 300,000.
Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento told the
Orange County Register newspaper that the immigration officials appeared to have
targeted day labourers waiting for work.
At least 200 protesters, waving flags and carrying signs,
gathered outside a federal building in downtown Santa Ana, which houses ICE
offices and other federal department offices, to protest the raids that occurred.
Later, the situation escalated and took a chaotic turn
after law enforcement reportedly shot at the crowd.
California sued the Trump administration after the
President ordered the deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops to
Los Angeles without the state's permission in response to the protests.
Nearly 400 people in immigration protests have been arrested
or detained by the Los Angeles Police Department since Saturday, media reports
said.
The arrested and detained include 330 undocumented
migrants and 157 people arrested for assault and obstruction, reports Xinhua
news agency, quoting the BBC News.
On the first night of curfew starting Tuesday night in
the US second largest city, there were 203 arrests for failure to disperse and
17 arrests for curfew violation, said the Los Angeles Police Department in a
press release.
