Walter Gozzer, married and father of two children, had lived in the United States for 30 years. In order to maintain his work visa, he had to routinely report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miramar, Florida. The last time his wife saw him was during their visit on February 20, 2019, when ICE agents decided to arrest him and send him to the Homestead Detention Center.
A month later, he was deported to Peru, where he has yet to find work. His wife, who was a homemaker, now cleans other homes to pay bills at the end of the month.
“When you do something wrong, it doesn’t matter if you are undocumented or not, you have to pay for it. But my husband doesn’t have a police ticket, absolutely nothing. In these cases, the only thing they have come for is to work, to pay taxes, ”said Lily Montalván, Gozzer’s wife.
Despite the fact that President Donald Trump warned from the beginning of his administration that he would detain and deport the “bad men” who came to the United States, it is increasingly common that ICE detains immigrants who do not have a criminal record.
Since the start of the administration of President Donald Trump, arrests of immigrants with criminal records have decreased by 13%. In comparison, arrests of immigrants without a criminal record or who have not been convicted of a crime increased by 35%, according to an analysis by Telemundo News to ICE’s annual arrest reports.
A study by the American Immigration Council confirmed that arrests have already not only focus on immigrants who pose a threat to the country’s security, as happened in the government of Democrat Barack Obama. ICE now targets all undocumented immigrants (or permanent residents) with minor criminal offenses, regardless of their socioeconomic or family ties in the United States.
“The president said that everyone in this country, regardless of personal history, would be targeted by immigration law enforcement. The numbers reflect that, ”said Guillermo Cantor, director of research for this organization.
ICE divides its operations into 24 areas of responsibility. In the last two years, arrests of immigrants with no criminal records increased in 18 of those offices.
The area of responsibility of Miami, which includes Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, saw the largest increase in arrests of immigrants without criminal records: they grew 113% between 2017 and 2019.
María Asunción Bilbao, from the United We Dream organization, said that in Florida immigrants are detained in public areas just because of their appearance. Others are arrested for domestic violence after, in a family conflict, someone calls the police. Or caught by the police for driving without a license without driving.
Such is the case of Rubén Moroyoqui, a 45-year-old mechanic, who was arrested in 2017 while on his way to collect auto parts. When he was detained, the officer asked for his driver’s license and asked if he was in the country legally. He was immediately turned over to ICE, which attempted to deport him to Mexico.
“I have great respect and love for this country,” the American father of four, who entered undocumented 16 years ago, told The Associated Press news agency.
Bud Conlin, an activist with the Miramar Protection Circle, added that it is now common for immigrants who must report to ICE routinely to be detained and deported, even though these types of people were not a priority under Obama.
“We see it all the time. Obama earned the nickname deporter-in-chief, but during his administration there was discretion and priorities. Since 2017 there is no discretion, there are no priorities”Conlin explained.
Of the 318,570 crimes for which the 92,108 immigrants detained by ICE last year were convicted, 88,823 (28%) were for traffic offenses, including driving under the influence of alcohol. Another 46,888 offenses (15%) were for immigration offenses, that is, entering the country illegally.
Activists warned that such offenses they do not represent criminals that they are truly a danger to the communities.
“When resources are allocated to meet certain numbers or quotas, ICE ends up going into a community, arresting people, making collateral arrests and causing a lot of pain to families and communities,” Cantor added.
Where are arrests of immigrants with no criminal record most common?
Where arrests increased between 2017 and 2019
Miami (Florida, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands): 113% increase
El Paso (West Texas, New Mexico): 83%
San Antonio (Central Texas): 83%
Salt Lake City (Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada): 77%
Dallas (North Texas, Oklahoma): 58%
Denver (Colorado, Wyoming): 45%
Houston (Southeast Texas): 45%
New York City (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx y los condados de Duchess, Nassau, Putnam, Suffolk, Sullivan, Orange, Rockland, Ulster y Westchester): 43%
New Orleans (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee): 36%
Detroit (Michigan, Ohio): 33%
Chicago (Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kentucky, Kansas): 28%
Phoenix (Arizona): 25%
Baltimore (Maryland): 25%
St. Paul (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota): 23%
Washington (District of Columbia and Virginia): 23%
Atlanta (Georgia, North Carolina y South Carolina): 18%
Newark (New Jersey): 8%
Seattle (Alaska, Oregon, Washington): 4%
Where arrests decreased between 2017 and 2019
San Diego (San Diego and Imperial County): 51% decrease
San Francisco (Northern California, Hawaii, Guam): 32%
Boston (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont): 7%
Buffalo (Upstate New York): 9%
Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino), and the Central Coast (Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo): 9%
Philadelphia (Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia): 18%
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