Some illegal migrants detained by federal immigration authorities in Los Angeles since Saturday have already been deported, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
The workplace investigations and raids in Los Angeles that led to detentions of illegal immigrants sparked the protests that turned into riots that have persisted into Tuesday.
The Mexican government reported two illegal migrants arrested in LA’s fashion district had final deportation orders and were deported within 48 hours. Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente said two others left the U.S. voluntarily.
“If they had final orders of removal and especially if they weren’t responding, that means they had orders and never left,” Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, told the Post. “The position of the administration is that you don’t even get a hearing, you already had a hearing and we’re just executing the old order.”
The Department of Homeland Security released information on 16 detainees it said had extensive criminal records but otherwise did not release a total number of those detained. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Monday that those detained represent the “worst of the worst.”
Immigrant advocacy groups reported that 200 others were detained, according to the Post. They say those migrants did not have criminal records.
“I said from day one, January 20th: We will prioritize public safety threats and national security threats. However, we will enforce law. We’re gonna enforce immigration law … especially in sanctuary cities, where we can’t get the bad guy in the safety and security of a jail,” border czar Tom Homan told MSNBC on Monday.
“They’re released into the street. Well, we gotta go to the street and find them. And when we find them, many times they’re with others.”
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