The planned immigration enforcement surge was announced to agents in early October, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters.
\n\nFederal immigration raids across California’s Central Valley have sparked allegations of voter intimidation and heightened anxiety among Latino communities just days before the US midterm elections, with the operations unfolding in a closely contested congressional district that could influence control of the House of Representatives.
\n\nThe planned immigration enforcement surge was announced to agents in early October, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters. A US official told the news agency that the operation had been directed by the White House.
\n\nUnlike large-scale raids in cities such as Minneapolis and Chicago, the California operation has involved smaller groups of immigration officers moving between towns in the largely agricultural region. The United Farm Workers union said it was aware of hundreds of farmworkers being detained in recent weeks.
\n\nPreliminary Department of Homeland Security data showed that immigration arrests in Bakersfield increased from around one per day for much of the year to nearly 10 daily in mid-October. In nearby Wasco, at least seven people were arrested within a few days.
\n\nICE Raids Raise Concerns In Key Congressional Race
\n\nThe enforcement…
Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/world
