ICE agents conducting sweeps in Central Texas
ICE raids happening across the nation
ICE agents are carrying out sweeps across the country, including here in Central Texas. These operations are a part of the Trump administration's plan to crackdown on illegal immigration.
AUSTIN, Texas - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are carrying out sweeps across the nation. The operations are a part of President Trump's plan to crackdown on illegal immigration.
Federal agents could be seen outside the JJ Pickle federal building downtown on Wednesday.
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.
RELATED: DEA confirms ICE raids conducted in Austin
Are ICE raids happening in Austin?
ICE raids happening across Texas
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted raids in Austin over the weekend. The raids come one week into President Trump's pledge to carry out the largest deportation campaign in American history.
What they're saying:
More than a dozen arrests have been made in Austin and surrounding cities this month.
"The immigration lawyers in Austin are seeing an influx of people who are just scared. But the reality of it is these people who are arrested have been in the program for a long time," says Austin immigration attorney Thomas Esparza.
Immigration attorney Thomas Esparza says those arrested in the sweeps in Austin are held at the JJ Pickle federal building downtown and processed from there.
"If they're handed off to the US Marshal, it's because they're being charged with reentry after removal, which is a federal crime. So, we're never going to see them, and they're never going to go see an immigration judge. Next, they'll be lucky to get out of the federal penitentiary in six months or a year. The ones that go to Hutto have a chance to see an immigration judge and ask for a bond and explain their right to be here in the United States, their eligibility," says Esparza.
Thomas Esparza says there has been an uptick in clients working to get the proper documentation.
"I have people that I represented 40 years ago who are just now saying, maybe I should go ahead and apply for citizenship now before it's too late, or maybe I should go ahead and apply for the green card because I’ve waited 4 or 5 years and never just got around to it," says Esparza.
Helping children impacted by ICE raids
The Trump administration has removed policies that restricted illegal immigration enforcement in previously protected spaces like churches, schools and hospitals. Paige Duggins-Clay, the Chief Legal Analyst with the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA) joins us to discuss the issue.
Local perspective:
Many, along with Congressman Lloyd Doggett, are questioning the immigration crackdown.
"To take a construction worker who's out there working hard to provide for his family, or a woman who may be the mother of American citizen children who's working to provide health care or working at a restaurant. How does it help us to have those people dragged away and separated from their families," says Congressman Lloyd Doggett.
The president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, Dennis Farris, chimed in on social media saying APD is short-staffed and has no business accompanying ICE.
But if someone has an outstanding warrant, an arrest should be made and if ICE requests help with violent criminal assistance, it should be given.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Tan Radford