BOSTON (AP) — The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer on Monday defended tactics against criticism that the authorities were too heavy as they increased arrests for President Donald Trump’s massive deportation pledge.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said she was “deeply upset” by ice surgery at a popular Italian restaurant just before dinner rushed Friday. A chaotic showdown unfolded outside as customers and witnesses screamed, smoke filling the air and agents wore heavy tactical gear to face an angry crowd.
Ice’s representative superintendent Todd Lyons got emotional when asked to explain why officials were wearing masks. He said some people were killed and harassed online.
“If you’re angry at people wearing masks, I’m sorry, but I won’t let the police and agents get out there and stop their lives.
Leons had left the room when reporters asked him about the mask. He returned to the podium.
“The only problem here is that we’re getting mad at the mask?” he asked. “Or is anyone pissed off by the fact that the ice officer family was named terrorists?”
The Lions may have mentioned comments by San Diego Councillor Sean Elo Libara, who called the ice officer “terrorist” after the restaurant raid on Friday. “This is not safe. It’s state-sponsored terrorism,” Elo-Rivera wrote on Instagram.
The Department of Homeland Security reposted the Elo-Rivera message, saying that using ice as an example for terrorists is “a disease.” Councillors stuck with his comments Monday.
Other elected officials, such as Gloria and US Rep. Scott Peters of San Diego, both Democrats, were more subdued, but were also sharply critical of the Ice and the Republican White House.
“Those federal actions are being billed as public safety measures, but they had the opposite effect. What we see undermines trust and creates fear in our community,” Gloria said.
Ice said Monday that four U.S. people were illegally arrested due to an operation in Buona Forchetta, an anchor in San Diego’s trendy South Park area. Authorities executed criminal search warrants to make illegal employment and false statements when crowds “get out of control,” prompting the use of flash van devices.
“When such gatherings are formed, not only will law enforcement be at risk, but we will also put protesters/onlines who will try to disrupt law enforcement activities,” Ice said in a statement.
The owner said it has been closing its Southern California restaurant for two days.
“I wish we could find stronger words, but the truth is that we are heartbroken,” the owner said in a statement. “Traumatic incidents, including federal enforcement operations at our original and beloved South Park location, leave a mark on us all. They still have raw scars and still resonate in our kitchens, our dining rooms and our hearts.”
In an interview with Fox & Friends on Sunday, the Lions said ICE, a sharp rise from previous data showing 78,155 arrests between January 20th and May 19th, averaged around 1,600 arrests per day.
Stephen Miller, a leading architect in Trump’s immigration policy, set the target of arresting 3,000 people a day last week, saying that the number could rise. That pace will be a major challenge with current funding. ICE had an average of more than 46,000 detainees in early May, which already exceeded the budget capacity.
The Lions said that if “sanctuary cities change policies,” they wouldn’t need operations like the Massachusetts surge. Sanctuary City’s policy does not have a legal definition, but generally limits local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration officials. Homeland Security has published a list of more than 500 sanctuaries, but has also removed it from its website after criticising its allies for inaccuracy.
The Lions were standing near a poster board featuring mug shots of an unknown immigrant. A complete list of people arrested was not available, nor was there any information on crimes accused of committing a particular individual.
Lyon called them “risky criminals” as “terrorizing our family, friends and our neighbors.”
State, local and federal authorities took part in the attack at a South Carolina nightclub on Saturday, saying that authorities were popular with drug dealers, resulting in the illegal arrest of 66 people in the country. Cardel Morant, a special agent in South Carolina and North Carolina homeland security investigations, said the 3am operation came during the “cartel afterparty.”
Authorities did not release additional details regarding the charges faced by those arrested during the Charleston County raid.
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Contributors were Rebecca Santana of Washington, Elliot Spagut of San Diego and Jeffrey Collins of Columbia, South Carolina.
