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Why Arizona could see workplace immigration raids return under Trump
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Why Arizona could see workplace immigration raids return under Trump

PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — The second Trump administration is taking shape, with an emphasis on some form of mass deportation of undocumented migrants, as promised during the Republican campaign.

President-elect Donald Trump has taken the first step toward that plan by appointing a controversial former immigration official to lead border policy: Tom Homan, who worked under the Obama administration and was acting ICE director during his first term Trump.

At the Republican National Convention this summer, Homan had a stark warning for undocumented immigrants.

“As a guy who spent 34 years deporting illegal aliens, I got a message,” he said. “You’d better start packing now.”

Homan has downplayed the idea of ​​mass immigration arrests, instead pushing for workplace immigration enforcement operations.

Arizona has gone through a similar policy.

“During SB 1070, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, when they did a lot of raids and work shifts, we saw our economy recover more slowly than other states,” said José Patiño, a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient for which he is now working Alientoa nonprofit working with undocumented, DACA, and mixed-status families.

FILE -- Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies conduct immigration raids under...
FILE — Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies conduct immigration raids under Joe Arpaio.(The Arizona Family)

In 2005, then-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio launched a large-scale operation targeting predominantly Latino communities and businesses to arrest undocumented workers.

The US Supreme Court ruled the crackdown unconstitutional after immigrant rights groups fought back.

“It’s a mix of emotions,” Patiño said. “A lot of people are scared, people are terrified, some people are sad.”

Patiño fears the impact will be much more significant this time around.

“There’s 25 percent of the agricultural workforce, and it’s undocumented workers,” he said. “If that were to happen, we would certainly see an increase in inflation. People think prices are high now, they’re probably going to go up a lot.”

During a “60 Minutes” interview before the election, Homan called suggestions of mass neighborhood raids or building camps to hold people “ridiculous.”

“You focus first on threats to public safety and threats to national security, because they’re the worst of the worst,” Homan said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” Homan also said ICE will implement Trump’s plans in a “humane manner.”

“It will be a well-targeted, well-planned operation led by ICE people. The men and women of ICE do this every day. They’re good at it,” Homan said.

Another point of concern for Patiño is Homan’s statements that “families can be deported together.”

Patiño worries that children who are U.S. citizens but have undocumented parents may also be forced to leave the country.

Asked if there was a way to carry out deportations without separating families, Homan said, “Families can be deported together.” He also said immigration enforcement operations at the workplace — which the Biden administration has largely halted — would be “necessary.”

As of 2018, 330,000 undocumented immigrants lived in Arizona, a number that does not include about 2,200 people brought to the country illegally as children, who are commonly referred to as “Dreamers.” It also consists of nearly 40,000 others who could qualify for protection.

“We’re talking about a relationship of about half a million Arizonans, we include mixed-status parents, undocumented parents, DACA recipients, children of American citizens. So it’s a sizeable part of the state that could disappear,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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