ICE Raids in Central Texas Deemed Unlikely

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation has been causing quite a stir in Austin and parts of South Texas. As part of this operation, 14 undocumented Mexican immigrants were detained on Thursday, and another 30 were taken into custody on Friday. Of those, the majority did have some form of a criminal background in addition to illegal immigration.

The higher than normal number of arrests has sparked some major controversy, especially in light of Trump’s stance on immigration. A large protest took place near one of the arrest sites in Austin on Friday night. Several activist groups participated, claiming that ICE is holding raids to use certain immigrants as a representation of the sector as a whole.

Photo: Wikimedia

The events of this weekend have already begun causing a panic in certain areas of the state where immigration is prevalent. Some school districts have even held trainings instructing teachers how to discuss raids with students. However, experts have claimed that raids coming to Central Texas are highly unlikely. Although it is, of course, possible to some extent, ICE simply does not have the manpower or resources to perform a mass door-to-door sweep.

While fear is inevitable in situations like this, officials involved are pleading with the public to keep rumors to a minimum, so as not to create even more panic.