Immigrant advocates were rapid in condemning the raids as cruel following the emergence of pictures and videos on social media showing children desperately crying after their parents had been detained by ICE officials.

 

            The massive raid follows Trump’s immigration crackdown announcement in June in which he condemned those who have entered the country illegally and promised to remove thousands of immigrants.

 

            ICE spokesman, Bryan Cox, has announced that 300 people have been released as of today with notice to appear before an immigration judge. Those that have been released will be transferred to an ICE detention facility.

 

            According to Cox, those detained were asked if they had any children at school that needed to be picked up or if they had any dependents that needed to be taken cared off. Detainees were also given phones to coordinate for the care of their children.

 

            The damage that these raids have on children can be very devastating according to Nora Preciado, supervising attorney at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).  She stated that research on children who are affected by immigration raids, shows that their educational development and social and behavioral wellbeing are severely impacted.

 

            As the country experiences a shocking immigration raid that left many arrested and several children without their parents, the country will be on the alert to see whether the Trump administration will continue its crackdown on immigration.

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Joshua Ojeda Sanchez