
Sweeping Immigration Arrests Prompt Days of Protests in Austin
Up to 70 people have been detained by federal immigration officers in Austin in four days, according to a local organizer.
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Gus Bova is the editor-in-chief of the Texas Observer. In 2016, he joined the Observer as an intern, later becoming a staff writer and an assistant editor. He's covered immigration, homelessness, labor, politics, and other major Texas stories. Before coming to the Observer, he worked at a shelter for recently arrived immigrants and asylum-seekers. He studied Latin American Studies at the University of Kansas.
Up to 70 people have been detained by federal immigration officers in Austin in four days, according to a local organizer.
In 2015, federal authorities never followed up on 62 percent of immigration detainers issued to local jails. Overall, only 15 percent of detainers led to deportations.
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"By midnight on election night, we were already flooded with inquiries from our clients. People were immediately panicked," one attorney said.
Many long-time Austinites, including the former police chief, said it was the largest rally they’d ever seen in the capital city.
Hundreds of students gathered at UT-Austin to inaugurate resistance to the Trump administration.
"We oppose these politics that have become poisoned with misinformation about immigrants and border life," said state Senator Jose Rodriguez.
Trump could quickly take action that would render some of them obsolete, while others could see several more years of litigation.
Austin advocates say they will put their bodies on the line to defend immigrants from Trump administration deportations.