ORLANDO, Fla. — Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) is expected to begin deportations raids this Sunday, July 14, a month after President Donald Trump announced they would begin.
- ICE to begin deportation raids on Sunday
- Concerns grow for those who fear they may be deported
- Nonprofits hosting seminars on immigrant rights
- RELATED STORIES:
"They are absolutely happening," said Ken Cuccinelli, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Acting Director.
"There's approximately a million people in this country with removal orders. And of course that isn't what ICE will go after in this, but that's the pool of people who have been all the way through the due process chain," he continued.
Eugenia Echeverria is a mother of three and an undocumented immigrant.
Her children were born here, but she was born in Guatemala.
She's spent the last 12 years wondering if she'll ever be deported, with those concerns growing more recently.
"I don't want my family to be separated," Echeverria said.
A day before he made his reelection bid in Orlando, President Trump announced that raids will start in June, and then postponed them until after the Fourth of July.
The President said he would call them off if Congress were able to come up with a solution for what he's calling a crisis at the Southern border.
A compromise was not reached, and now the raids are expected to start.
"You can't jump the line, and if you do, have consequences, and if you don't enforce the law, it's just going to further encourage people to break the law," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-Texas).
Around 2,000 families with court-ordered deportations will be targeted in 10 U.S. cities, and possibly others could be detained as well.
"These families are hardworking members of our community," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "This brutal action will action will terrorize children and tear families apart."
"It makes me sad, because my family could be one of them (one day)," Echeverria said.
Echeverria said she and her family started to attend seminars held by nonprofit organizations on what rights they have if ICE agents ever confront them.
An ICE spokesperson released a statement saying they will not offer specific details related to the enforcement operations due to safety and security concerns for their agents.