ICE Now Going Against High-Profile Illegal Immigrant Activists

Immigration authorities have detained two illegal immigrants who are known activists against Donald Trump and his immigration policies. Under Trump’s administration, nobody who is illegal is safe.

The men who were arrested have been living in the U.S. for years untouched because of some unspoken immunity. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have denied that the arrests are politically motivated, but it shows that they have the confidence to arrest just about anybody.

Both of the arrested men are leaders of the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City, a network of social organizations that protect illegal immigrants from deportation.

ICE officers first detained Jean Montrevil, a Haitian immigrant who has been living in the U.S. illegally since 1986 despite having a conviction for drug possession.

Montrevil co founded the organization and was taken into custody near his home in Queens in early January. ICE is being accused of breaking an “understanding” that Montrevil wouldn’t be deported for whatever reason. Despite the public outcry, Montrevil was deported to Haiti on Tuesday.

The other activist who was arrested was Ravidath Ragbir, who was arrested while checking in with ICE officials in New York City.

Ragbir came to the U.S. in 1991 legally, but was convicted in 2006 of a wire fraud conviction  for which he served 2 and a half years in prison, and was ordered to be deported.

In 2011, the New York field office of ICE granted Ragbir a stay of removal. Then, last April, the Trump administration granted an extension of that stay, but only until Jan. 19, according to the New York Times.

Ragbir’s wife Amy Gottlieb, an immigration lawyer, has accused the Trump administration of singling out her husband because of his outspoken activism.

“Like Jean [Montrevil] and thousands of other immigrants caught in ICE raids, Ravi threatens no one,” she wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Thursday. “On the contrary, he and other immigrant leaders have lead their communities with dignity and courage during a brutal time. That’s why they were snatched — and why ICE wants to deport them”