VoxPopuli: During his campaign, Trump spoke about a mass deportation effort to expel undocumented people with criminal records. But haven’t people without criminal records gotten caught too? Are ICE’s daily detention quotas part of the reason?

Roberto Cruz: Yes. ICE has an internal target of arresting around 3,000 people a day, and that pressure pushes agents to meet numbers, regardless of someone’s criminal history. These quotas apply to all non-citizens, even those with no criminal record and asylum seekers or longtime residents. This is why we’re seeing more people with no criminal background caught up in mass raids. It’s about hitting a number, not prioritizing public safety. These anti-immigrant policies, especially in Florida, which has expanded on Trump’s immigration agenda, are criminalizing immigration law. 

[Ed. note: Until recently, immigration law has been largely a civil, not criminal, matter.]

In January, the sensitive locations policy was set aside. This policy protected people in churches and in certain public spaces from being detained by ICE. Now, there is no such protection, and it has been compounded by the declaration of an "invasion", also issued via executive order, making the situation very unstable. 

The policies of this new administration are not just focused on non-citizens. These policies have also targeted the Puerto Rican community. You see ICE raids at Puerto Rican restaurants. Puerto Ricans like myself share the same skin color and the same accent as the people targeted by ICE as not being American. That's why we are not only focusing our efforts on non-citizens but on all citizens. 

[Ed. note: Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory.]

VoxPopuli: People often don’t know that because ICE agents use civil warrants rather than criminal warrants, they don’t have the right to enter one’s home. Now that the sensitive locations policy no longer applies, ICE has detained undocumented people on the streets, near churches or schools, during traffic stops, at car washes. How is ICE able to take people off the street? How is this affecting the Latino community? 

Roberto Cruz:  I tend to look at our Latino and immigrant communities as being targeted, profiled, detained and some of them being deported. We have seen a reduction in people attending schools and places of worship because of the end of the sensitive locations policy. People are scared to go into a Latino-owned business because they fear that at some point that place could be targeted by ICE agents. Some legitimate businesses have been raided by ICE without a judicial warrant authorizing them to enter a private business without permission from the owners.  ICE officers can enter the public area of a restaurant without a judicial warrant if they stay in the part where everybody sits to have dinner or one of the restrooms that's open to the public. What you can't do without a warrant issued by a court is enter into the private spaces, meaning the kitchen or the offices. But not everyone knows their rights. 

 VoxPopuli: State and local law enforcement agencies in Florida have been ordered to assist ICE agents. Orange County Sheriff John Mina was even given a list of about 10,000 undocumented immigrants to be detained and deported. County raids have resulted in a nearly 400 percent increase in inmates at the Orange County jail, there for immigration violations. Orange County commissioners have also received complaints that detainees' names have not been released so their families know where they are. What would be stopping Orange County from releasing the names?

Roberto Cruz: We actually participated in the hearings in front of the Orange County Board [of Commissioners] where we expressed our objection to having the county sign these 287(g) agreements with the federal government. We have been getting reports of acts of cooperation that have definitely increased the numbers of ICE enforcement activities. In Orange County specifically, there are 800 folks that are being detained in our county jails and are waiting for their deportation hearings.

As a result, we participated in a march with some of the faith community in front of the Orange County jail because we know that some of these 800 people that are currently being detained are not being given the due process that they have a right to. We definitely don't believe that the Orange County that we know would be supportive of these kinds of acts.

Orange County could possibly be citing privacy rules or safety concerns to not release the names of people held for immigration violations. But it’s unclear what the real reason for the delay is. LatinoJustice believes communities have a right to transparency. 

VoxPopuli: The deportations have sparked protests, starting last week in downtown Los Angeles against ICE sweeps and the deployment of the National Guard and Marines over California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections. A June 10 YouGov poll found that 56 percent of U.S. adults surveyed said state and local authorities should handle the Los Angeles protests. Protests continued Saturday, June 14, with 2,000  “No Kings” protests occurring across the country, including 75 in Florida, with one at Orlando City Hall expected to draw 4,000 people. What’s the significance of mobilizing the military and giving soldiers the power to detain those who interfere with immigration authorities when officials in Los Angeles say the demonstrations are largely peaceful? 

Roberto Cruz: Bringing in U.S. Marines, who are trained for combat, not crowd control, into largely peaceful protests in Los Angeles is dangerous. It sends the wrong message and makes the situation more tense, not safer. This kind of military presence can escalate fear and intimidation, especially for immigrant and Latino communities.

 VoxPopuli: A key to Trump's mass deportation agenda has been the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that allows for the detainment and removal of citizens of an enemy nation during a declared war. Trump has declared the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua the enemy, even though it is not a sovereign nation. How is this administration using the act to target Hispanic people?

Roberto Cruz: The government is using the Alien Enemies Act in order to circumvent the system and not follow due process. Typically, a person that is detained would go to a hearing and would be able to argue whether that detention was made in accordance to law and procedure. But because of this declaration of "emergency," they are arguing that [laws] are not necessarily required to be followed. 

We believe that the government has not provided sufficient evidence to establish that we have been invaded and that we are at a state of war. No specific foreign government has provided any kind of attack on our nation that would merit this declaration of a national emergency. Courts around the nation have disagreed with the current administration on the legality of declaring this state of emergency to deport alleged gang members without due process.

VoxPopuli: Federal courts have blocked parts of Trump's immigration agenda. Is the administration now obligated to abide by these rulings? 

Roberto Cruz: The current administration has a legal position based on their declaration of a national emergency. We want to know the basis for their position. We want to make sure that the government fulfills its obligation to provide us with evidence, but we don't have evidence right now that the government has not followed the orders of the court. 

We have a U.S. Supreme Court that has ordered this administration to take back some of the steps, and people that have actually been deported have been asked to return to the U.S. in order for these people to be afforded their due process rights. This administration's position is that once these people are released to a third party, they no longer have jurisdiction. So they cannot abide by the court's order because they don't have the authority to do what the court says. We don't share the opinion of the administration. We believe that the administration that provided the means for some people to be deported also has the means to get these people back and to provide for the due process that was illegally taken from them.

 VoxPopuli: Some immigrants, like Kilmar Abrego Garcia, have been sent to prisons in other countries, such as El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). The administration is also exploring sending detainees to countries with questionable human rights records, particularly in Africa. How is the administration able to deport immigrants to third countries where they are not originally from? 

Roberto Cruz:  I'm going to speak on a case-by-case basis because that's how lawyers deal with these kinds of situations. Part of the way that [gang members] identify themselves is through tattoos. One person that was deported had a tattoo of a puzzle [thought to be ] a symbol of affiliation with a gang. I'm the parent of a child with autism, so somebody like me would say, “That means that there's a loved one that has autism, and this person has this tattoo because they're showing their support for the cause.” 

The person with the tattoo should be given the right to due process, to come in front of a judge, present evidence that this tattoo has nothing to do with membership to a particular gang. When you're trying to deport these numbers of people without due process, you're going to make a lot of mistakes. These facilities are out of the country in places with a questionable history of how they handled their own prisons. You are going to do a lot of injustice to people who have worked hard to keep their families safe.

VoxPopuli: Part of Trump’s immigration agenda is expanding detention facilities in the U.S. Conditions in these facilities can be grim, with detainees reporting overcrowding, hunger and a lack of healthcare services. How do these detention facilities fit into Trump’s larger immigration plan, which is to get immigrants out of the U.S.? 

‍Roberto Cruz: We certainly believe that part of the campaign of this new administration relies on fear. People, sometimes in fear of being held in inhumane conditions, will opt to self deport. The tactic is to make people fear the alternative of fighting the system because if you try to fight the system, you will be held in inhumane conditions and not necessarily here in the U.S., maybe someplace else that will make it impossible for you to reunite with your family. 

VoxPopuli: The administration is trying to remove the TPS  program, which provides work permits to people from countries where the DHS determines immigrants cannot return to safely because of armed conflict or natural disasters. The program was started in 1990 and expanded under Biden. The Trump administration recently instituted a travel ban restricting travel from Cuba and Venezuela. How will these policies affect those seeking asylum?

‍Roberto Cruz: LatinoJustice has been actively involved in the TPS for Venezuelans [who have been granted TPS status because of political instability under Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime]. This is related to the matter of Noem v.  National TPS Alliance, a case in the United States Supreme Court where Venezuelans that are recipients of TPS were denied an extension of their status. We collaborated with the plaintiffs in this case, and we still believe that the United States Supreme Court should reconsider its position of allowing the government to stop the program. We are taking steps to make sure that Venezuelans, along with other TPS recipients, are provided their day in court.

VoxPopuli: In the 2024 election, Trump broke records in getting the Latino vote for a Republican candidate. I'm from Miami-Dade County, which has been historically blue and Latino. Last year, it swung red. From what you’ve seen, how are Latinos feeling about Trump now?

Roberto Cruz: We have seen some Latinos for Trump organizations that have withdrawn their support for the current administration's policies. They have seen that what they have been promised was not necessarily delivered, and for that reason, they are making their voices heard. We will see what happens in the next voting cycle, but we are seeing the public opinion turn on some of these new immigration policies.