U.S Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, known colloquially as ICE, isn’t new. In a couple of weeks the federal law enforcement agency will have been around for 22 years, founded during President George W. Bush’s first term as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. ICE has existed ever since, though for many people regardless of immigration status, the tone since President Donald Trump returned to office last month, has intensified. And as a result, even more so than during Trump’s first term, people are scared.
“We have always had (ICE) actions that have been picking up of individuals prior to this administration,” said an unnamed source with a local organization dedicated to helping immigrants with a wide range of assistance, including legal issues. Like several other people contacted for this story, this source agreed to speak to Hudson Valley One on condition of anonymity.
“Within the last several months, there had been other actions that we were aware of,” said the source, referring to ICE activity during the last year of President Joe Biden’s final year in office. But they said for the most part, ICE under Biden focused its efforts on noncitizens with criminal backgrounds or pending charges.
According to data, the deportation figures during Trump’s first term were actually lower than those of the Democratic presidents bookending that period. Approximately 1.2 million people were repatriated via removal orders, with an additional 805,770 either self-deporting or being turned away at the border between fiscal years 2017 and 2020, Trump’s first term of office.
By comparison, President Barack Obama’s first and second terms saw roughly 1.57 million and 1.49 million individuals deported, respectively. Those figures do not include self-deportations or returns at the border. The difference between Obama and Trump, however, is in tone: Particularly during his second term, Obama prioritized national security, border security and public safety, targeting convicted criminals for deportation. For example, in 2015, 91 percent of deportees had criminal convictions.
In his first term, Trump removed that prioritization, and the results are stark: In 2019, just 41 percent of deportations were of individuals with criminal convictions.
The Biden administration repatriated around 4.7 million in four years, but the increase is primarily due to a Title 42 order, enforced from March 2020 while Trump was still in office, through 2023. Title 42 allowed for expulsions based on public health concerns beginning with the global Covid-19 pandemic, and was particularly aimed at curbing entry at the U.S.-Mexico border and limiting asylum requests. Biden attempted to end Title 42 in 2022 but was rebuffed by Republican lawsuits over border security concerns.
When considering only immigration orders which involve non-voluntary deportations and prevent reentry, the figures during Biden’s tenure were significantly lower. Since fiscal year 2021, approximately 649,000 people have been deported via removal orders.
Trump heralded his second term in office with stronger rhetoric around immigration, and threats to involve the military in carrying out his deportation goals. According to two sources interviewed by Hudson Valley One, fears of ICE raids specifically targeting people from Central and South America have been bolstered by the removal of Spanish-language options on federal websites over the past few weeks.
“I think what’s increased is the fear and the language that we hear being put out there in the media,” said the unnamed source. “I’m not sure that the numbers are necessarily that much increased right now in our area, but we have big fears that they will be.”
Those fears aren’t just being felt by adults. While school district officials haven’t reported notable increases in student absences, multiple sources confirmed that some families are asking whether they should keep their kids home from school for fears they might be scooped up by ICE while waiting for the bus.
As of press time, a crowdfunding initiative on GoFundMe is less than $100 away from reaching its $9,000 goal, with nearly 200 people contributing in the hopes of returning 18-year old Cristian to his family in Saugerties. Cristian is a high school student, though Hudson Valley One was unable to confirm whether he attends school at Saugerties High or in another local school district. District officials in the former cited student protection when asked if Cristian was a student there. A principal in another district where he may have attended high school did not respond to queries at all.
In fact, numerous people provided Hudson Valley One with information relating to Cristian’s story beyond what appears on GoFundMe. While details from some sources aligned with details from others, as of press time little of that — including the circumstances of where he was allegedly detained, where he went to high school and even his last name — could be substantiated.
Unsuccessful attempts were made to reach family, local school districts, law enforcement and the Buffalo (Batavia) Service Processing Center where Cristian is allegedly being detained. The anonymous sources cited in this story are those with either a clear understanding of Cristian’s situation, or organizations and groups working in immigration issues.
One person who spoke on the record is Duff Morton, an immigration activist who until recently lived in Red Hook for six years. Morton and Natasha Stovall are the co-organizer of the fundraiser for Cristian, which seeks in part to aid his staying in the U.S. rather than being deported to Guatemala. According to Morton, Cristian’s mother Blanca sought asylum in the United States to escape domestic violence, arriving here in 2018 when Cristian was just 12 years old. Morton said legal experts he’s spoken to believe that’s where the difficulty began.
“They came to this country seeking asylum legally,” Morton said. “But the asylum claim didn’t go through, um, which is, you know, what happens to 95 percent of asylum claims. And then everybody in the family was automatically given a deportation order, including the kids. Cristian was the oldest at 12.”
Morton said deportation orders often arise due to “tiny administrative problems,” like immigration officials sending court appearance notifications to prior addresses.
“And interestingly the court knows that,” Morton said. “So historically, it’s still possible to overturn a deportation order, because courts understand that deportation orders often reflect tiny administrative problems rather than major moral judgments about a person. But, of course, you know, in the new Trump administration, all of this becomes much scarier, right?…ICE seems to be going after easy gets. And so I think it’s pretty upsetting that we are now living in a world that does not ask the big question, is it in the best interest of this country and of this family for Cristian to be exiled from his son? Instead, we’re living in a country that asks, is it easy to deport this person?”
Morton said Blanca had spoken to Cristian numerous times on the telephone, that he is a recent father, and wants to fight the possibility of deportation and remain with his family. Morton said he’s been told there may be reason for optimism.
“Cristian actually has a pretty substantive argument for legal status in this country,” Morton said. “It’s not even the case of, there’s no road left, he exhausted all his legal options. On the contrary, it seems like he probably, with good lawyers, could have a good chance of attaining legal status.”
Morton said the success of the GoFundMe, with many donors contributing what they can, shows the community believes in the cause.
“A lot of that comes from Cristian’s mom,” he said. “She’s just worked very hard to get this out. And their church has been involved as well. Cristian is someone that people know and love and care about and his friends are getting involved.”
For additional information, visit: www.gofundme.com/f/help-blanca-bring-her-son-back-home
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