It would take a heart of stone not to laugh. From the Minneapolis Star Tribune,
Tired of living in fear, this family decided to deport themselves.
The Star Tribune reports,
Segundo, 43, his wife Maria, 40, and their five kids were on a path to legal status and say their immigration case was up-to-date. But the Ecuadorian family was increasingly afraid to go to work, school or to the store for food and diapers for their grandson.
The key to the above paragraph is the use of the past tense, were/was. As we learn,
Asylum cases are always a long shot, so on the advice of an attorney, the family dropped their claim and instead applied for U visas, a temporary legal status for crime victims that is a pathway to permanent residency.
So, the family dropped their no-chance asylum claim and pinned their hopes on crime victim status. What crime(s) are they victims of? The Star Tribune does not say.
As far as I can tell, except for an anchor baby grandchild, none of the extended family have any claim to current legal status. So, they appear to have a reasonable basis for their fear of deportation.
Meanwhile, ICE goes about its business in the Metro area. Local Fox 9-TV reports,
Immigration operations continue in Minnesota on Monday.
No sign of a pullback, yet. Border Czar Tom Homan’s offer to reduce forces was always contingent on more cooperation from the locals. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) editorial board endorsed this approach last week, under the headline,
Tom Homan Makes a Good Offer to Minneapolis.
WSJ writes,
“More agents in the jail,” Mr. Homan said, “means less agents in the street.” That’s safer for both ICE and Minneapolis residents, and it also means fewer “collateral arrests.”
And there is some evidence of local popular support for the idea. American Experiment’s John Phelan writes about a recent opinion poll,
KSTP poll finds that Minnesotans favor local law enforcement helping federal immigration authorities by 14 points
The poll (Question 15) shows a 5o-36 margin for the question,
Should state and local law enforcement in Minnesota do more to help the federal government with its immigration enforcement?
Among political independents, the margin was 43-40 in favor of more cooperation.
The people have spoken.
