Trump officials could start arresting babies and young children in mass raids within days

The massive nationwide immigration raids Trump has bragged about for months are set to begin Sunday, according to a Thursday New York Times report.

The raids, led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are set to take place in 10 major cities across the country as a “show of force to deter families from approaching the southwestern border,” officials told the Times.

The mass raids are not targeting violent criminals, but rather rounding up and deporting families — including arresting babies and young children.

The administration will not hesitate to arrest and deport parents even if they have children who are U.S. citizens. As their parents are whisked away by Trump administration officials, children will have to wait with agents in hotel rooms until other family members can pick them up.

The latest mass raid has been delayed for weeks due to objections by some administration officials who claimed to be concerned about arresting children and separating families.

The Trump administration faced massive backlash after it essentially kidnapped thousands of children, ripping them away from their parents from 2017 through 2018. The kidnapping was profoundly traumatic for both children and their parents, some of whom may never see each other again. The administration is still struggling to reunite all the families it tore apart.

Now Trump has a new plan to terrorize immigrant communities, and his administration seems determined to move forward with it.

Some officials expressed concern for the safety of agents after Trump unexpectedly announced the impending raids via Twitter in late June. Agents are also concerned that, because of Trump’s announcement, the targets of their raids may have moved in the intervening weeks, according to the Times.

The latest raids were met with anger by many Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the plan for raids “heartless” in late June. “These families are hard-working members of our communities and our country,” Pelosi said in a statement at the time. “The president’s action makes no distinction between [an immigration] status violation and committing a serious crime.”

In past raids, ICE agents expressed unbridled glee at the idea of “hunting” families. “Happy hunting and target building!” one email from an ICE office read before a 2017 raid.

Trump is determined to continue his racist campaign of terror against immigrants, even if it means arresting babies and ripping families apart.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.