This browser does not support the Video element.
President Donald Trump’s threatened roundup of “millions of illegal immigrants” was much less of an event than he promised.
The president said there would be raids in 10 cities over the weekend. But, one of the few reports of activity came from New York where agents knocked on a door and left when no one came outside.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it is looking for about 2,000 people who are under final orders by an immigration court to leave the country.
“Using the term raid does everyone a disservice. We are doing targeted enforcement actions against specific individuals who have had their day in immigration court and have been ordered to be removed by an immigration judge. We are merely executing those lawfully issued judge’s orders,” said Matt Albence, the ICE acting director.
Still, the threat of raids raised anxiety in people who did not fit into that category. The mayor of Chicago said fear was high among people there.
“There is a tremendous amount of fear in our city. Our neighbors are worried about their status, worried as to whether or not the knock on the door is gonna mean that ICE is coming for them,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
There were more protests against the raids than there were arrests over the weekend, according to reports from several cities.