Rising ICE fears spark some Metro Detroit families to pull kids from school
With cities nationwide seeing increased raids and arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including Detroit, fears over what could happen to undocumented families continue to grow.
"We are seeing families torn apart, kids scared of losing their parents and never seeing them again," said Jad Salamey, a staff attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan Chapter.
For many, the fear has pushed them to make permanent decisions.
Sheila, who preferred to only use her first name, has lived in Pontiac with her husband and two teenage sons for a year. Just two weeks ago, the anxiety surrounding the potential of a raid led her to pull her youngest son out of school permanently.
"I'm scared because if they take him away, what will I do? What will I do with my children?" she said in Spanish. "When more people started being arrested, more people were arrested within those families, friends of my husband. I told him that it would be better if we left."
Citing federal records, the Council on American-Islamic Relations Michigan Chapter says more than 3,000 undocumented people in Metro Detroit have been arrested and detained in immigration-related incidents, with many being the heads of households.
"In some cases, when parents are being deported back to their country of nationality or even a random country they've never been to before. Sometimes they could be subject to a 10-year ban, and they simply cannot return to the United States anytime soon to be with their families," said Salamey.
Community advocacy groups like CAIR-MI have seen those numbers continually climb, particularly with people who have no prior criminal history.
"They could be visa holders, green card holders, and in some cases, full-blown U.S. citizens who are being picked up in these raids based solely on how they look, how they speak," said Salamey.
Sheila says her family tried to apply for political asylum but is now choosing to self-deport back to Venezuela, calling the last year one of the hardest of her life. Still, she is thankful for the opportunity to try to find a better life for her young boys.
"We didn't come here to take away anyone's food, jobs, property, or anything else. I came here to work; I came with a dream," said Sheila.