Under New Rules, ICE Tries to Deport a Mexican Immigrant Mother in the Middle of the Night German Lopez - Vox
go to original February 9, 2017

Protesters try to block deportation of Arizona mom (CBS News)

Update: Deported Mesa Mother Back in Mexico Morning After Phoenix Protests (KPNX)

On Wednesday night, Americans got a very public glimpse at what President Donald Trump has promised to do millions of times over: an unauthorized immigrant’s arrest and potential deportation in Phoenix, Arizona.

The victim who caught the attention of media and protesters at the scene was a 35- or 36-year-old mother of two American teenagers, Guadalupe García de Rayos. She has been in the US, according to the New York Times, since the age of 14, when she came into the country illegally.

García de Rayos was known to immigration authorities already. She had checked in yearly with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office after she was caught using a fake Social Security number during a raid at a water park where she worked. (That raid was ordered by the infamous former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who in 2016 lost his reelection bid after he was charged with criminal contempt of court.)

Advocates say Obama's deportations reaching "100 MPH" under Trump (Democracy Now)

Under President Barack Obama’s administration, García de Rayos had some protections: The administration told immigration officials to prioritize deporting people who were a threat to public safety or national security, had ties to gangs, or committed a serious felony or several misdemeanor crimes. Since she didn’t meet these criteria, she was seemingly spared — even though a judge issued a deportation order against her in 2013.

But the criteria changed under Trump. He recently signed an executive order that effectively expanded the definition of a deportation-prioritized criminal offense for unauthorized immigrants to include any criminal offense, even those that haven’t been officially charged yet but are “acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense.”

With her previous offense of using a fake Social Security number, that may have put García de Rayos on the list — leading ICE to tear her away from her husband, who is also an unauthorized immigrant, and two children.

...Regardless of the specifics of this individual case, this is exactly the kind of thing we can expect more of from Trump’s administration.

Read the rest at Vox

Related: Children of Immigrant Deported to Mexico Speak Out: ‘She Belongs with Us’ (TIME)

Related: For Years, Immigration Authorities Gave This Arizona Mother a Pass. Now She Has Been Deported (The Washington Post)

Related: Who Is Guadalupe Garcia De Rayos? The Mexican Mom Who Was Deported (Romper)

Related: Why Guadalupe Garcia's Deportation Wouldn't Have Happened Under Obama (Bustle)

Related: Trump’s Definition of Deportable ‘Broad’ and ‘Vague’ (New America Media)

Related: Protesters Rally to Stop ICE officials from Deporting Arizona Woman Who Has Lived in US for 21 Years (News.Mic)

Related: Trump Administration Prepares to Execute “Vicious” Executive Order on Deportations (The Intercept)

Related: For Many Abroad, Ideal of 'America' Still Cherished – at Least for Now (The Christian Science Monitor)

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