Trump's controversial ICE raids are set to begin in 9 US cities
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are set to begin raids on homes they say belong to undocumented immigrants in several cities across the country Sunday.
The raids are set to begin in 10 cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, and San Francisco.
- Advocates took to social media to inform undocumented immigrants or other's targeted by ICE of their rights if confronted as the embattled missions were set to begin.
- The status of Sunday's raids were unclear, but come a day after agents were reportedly turned away by the residents of two New York City homes on Saturday because they didn't have warrants.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are set to begin raids on homes they say belong to undocumented immigrants in several cities across the country Sunday.
The raids come after President Donald Trump previously called off a series of raids planned for last month, but warned that he remained dedicated to "removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States."
The raids are set to begin in nine cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. Raids on New Orleans were called off as the city deals with damage from Tropical Storm Barry, according to city officials.
The raids have been hotly contested by Democrats in Congress, in addition to objections from mayors and police chiefs in cities across the country, but the agency has pushed back on the controversy, saying they're just upholding and enforcing the law of the land.
"My duty is not to look at the political optics or the will of the American people. That's for the politicians to decide. What the American people should want us to do as law enforcement officials is to enforce the rule of law and maintain the integrity of that system," acting ICE director Mark Morgan told NPR in late June. "If you're here in violation of federal immigration law, if you've had due process and you have a final order, what are we supposed to do?"
Ahead of the raids, advocates took to social media to inform immigrants of their rights if they are confronted by ICE agents.
Read more: Immigrants have rights when ICE comes to arrest them, but experts warn this only goes so far
Though Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter Saturday that ICE raids had begun in New York City, acting Director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services Ken Cuccinelli said Sunday morning on CNN that he wouldn't confirm whether the raids had begun in other cities.
The status of missions in other cities remained unclear on Sunday after raids on two New York City homes went awry on Saturday, as residents at the targeted homes refused the immigration agents because they did not have warrants, according to the Wall Street Journal.