Fear dey waka for US immigrant communities as Trump administration dey step up arrests of undocumented migrants, catching criminals and those wey no get criminal history too. Since Donald Trump enter office on 20 January, federal officers don arrest plenty undocumented migrants, dey carry out raids for cities like Chicago, New York, Denver and Los Angeles. On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt talk say dem go focus on arresting criminals, but nobody wey dey for the country illegally dey safe. For some communities, di arrests don make some migrants no fit go work or keep their pikin dem for house. Over 3,500 undocumented migrants don dey arrested since Trump come back to di White House, include more than 1,000 on Tuesday, 969 on Monday and 1,179 on Sunday, according to daily statistics wey Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) publish. Compare am, average of 310 arrests don happen during 2024 fiscal year, when Joe Biden be president, according to di agency. Immigration officials call dis raids “targeted enforcement operations” wey don catch violent gang members and dangerous suspects, plus bring agents from other federal law enforcement agencies to help increase arrests. “I no see anything like dis, and na just di first few days of di presidency,” na wetin Gina Amato Lough, di California-based director attorney for di Immigrants Right Project talk. “Nothing wey reach dis level.” Ms Lough add say di “intention be to create shock and awe”. “E dey work,” she talk. “E dey also create terror for di community.” Di White House and ICE don show some of dis arrests, dey display pictures of di suspects and provide details of their countries of origin and di crimes wey include sex crimes, assaults and drug trafficking offences.
Dem arrests don already make many immigrant communities for USA dey fear. Ms Lough talk say, di people wey no get papers dey fear to go any government office – even just to collect driver’s licence – or go hospital when dem sick. “People dey very scared, and we dey get call left and right” na wetin Michael Lukens wey be di director of Amica Center for Immigrant Rights talk, dem dey help undocumented migrants wey dem don carry go detention. “People no fit go work, or send dem pikin go school,” he add, talk say di Trump government don block dem from enter di detention places to meet di people wey dem don carry. “Na wetin di White House want – to make people dey fear and make dem run away,” he talk. “Dis thing no be wetin we don see before.” One of di people wey dey fear be Gabriela, Bolivian woman wey don enter USA over 20 years ago, she hide for corn stalks for smuggler case during di journey. Now she be housekeeper for Maryland, at first she no dey worry about Trump victory, she think say he go just target criminals and say migrants go benefit from better economy. But na nine days after di government start, she dey fear like many of her neighbours, as she don see say ICE dey do operation for nearby places. “Plenty people for my building don stop sending dem pikin go school. Nobody dey even go church now,” she talk to BBC. “We dey watch mass online now.” Gabriela say she don start to pack her things for case dem arrest am and send am back to Bolivia.
