It is important to note that with all this talk of President Trump saying that ICE is focusing only on the “bad hombres” like gang members and murderers, local reports continue to share stories of fathers getting deported and being separated from families. While you have probably heard about the California father who was arrested in front of his daughter, there is also a story from Houston that would confirm that the Trump administration has widened the immigration enforcement net, suggesting that the first six years of the Obama administration (yes, the Obama administration) are back.
Here is what The Houston Chronicle published on Thursday about José Escobar:
The government’s decision to remove the 31-year-old father, who has no criminal record and is married to an American citizen, is the latest indication that President Donald Trump’s administration plans to deport practically any immigrant here illegally, even some like Escobar who were temporarily protected, who happens to fall into its cross hairs.
On the same day this Texas story became public, a story from Arizona also offers yet another look into what is actually happening these days:
An Arizona man who was detained by immigration officials Thursday was deported to Mexico Friday afternoon.
Juan Carlos Fomperosa Garcia, 44, showed up for a check-in meeting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Phoenix Thursday morning but was taken into custody, according to his daughter Yennifer Sanchez, 23.
He had a work permit and is a single dad of three U.S. citizens, according to Sanchez. Friday night, the children traveled to Nogales, Sonora, to spend the weekend with Fomperosa Garcia.
The story goes to say that Fomperosa Garcia had been returned to Mexico three times (this was during the Obama administration, people) and was facing a removal order than happened in 2016. He was charged with an unidentified misdemeanor in 2015.
So these are the “gang members” and “murderers” Trump is talking about? Where are the national stories of those arrests and why is ICE not publicizing them? Wouldn’t you think that those stories would be front and center? But guess what, the “felons not families” line was just a lie back during Obama and it will also be one during the Trump years. The message is clear: Trump is just cranking up what Obama had perpetuated.
You don’t think so? Check out how the private prison industry, which began to grow under the Obama years, will likely continue to grow:
… @chrislhayes w/ an @allinwithchris exclusive: trump admin plans expansion of women/children placed in immigrant detention. #inners pic.twitter.com/NznmUrwStM
— fake nick ramsey (@nick_ramsey) March 4, 2017
