LOS ANGELES The raids hyped for weeks by President Donald Trump were to take place in major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Atlanta, Baltimore and Houston.
As of Sunday evening, there were no reports of arrests in the Los Angeles area. And the widespread raids that some feared failed to materialize.
In Florida, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were seen knocking on doors near Miami International Airport on Sunday and in the migrant farming community of Immokalee on Friday, but there had been no reports of arrests, said Melissa Taveras of the Miami-based Florida Immigrant Coalition.
We dont know if theyre doing it on purpose saying these cities are the targets so then smaller places are targeted, Taveras said.
Taveras said migrant advocates were advising families to memorize the phone number of a relative or an attorney they could call if they were detained by ICE, and to ensure a relative knew their full name, date of birth and what location theyre being taken to so that they could try to get released.
She said she has been in contact with migrant families hiding in their homes. She said it felt as though they were preparing for a storm.
The overall environment is very much like a hurricane: When is it going to come, is it going to hit us, is it going to move north? she said.
In Houston, there was no sign of ICE raids early Sunday.
Its actually really quiet. Were driving around and its really empty, said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of immigrant advocacy group Fiel Houston.
Espinosa was driving to check out a report that two migrants had been picked up by ICE at an apartment complex late Saturday. Nearly a dozen churches have volunteered to house migrants during the raids, providing food and other supplies. But many were sheltering in place.
Were advising people to just continue with their lives, Espinosa said, and know their rights so they know what to do.
By late Sunday afternoon, Venus Rodriguez was reaching out to migrant families hiding at home and preparing to emerge Monday.
Theyre going to attempt to go to work, because they need the money, said Rodriguez, 43, a U.S. citizen and a community organizer on Houstons north side. Its a scary situation for a lot of them.
While some officials have said that only recent migrants with deportation orders will be targeted in the ICE raids, she said, a lot of them are not trusting that. They think they might just start picking people up.
Rodriguez attended Mass at a local Catholic church Sunday where the pews were emptier than usual.
