A Mexican family in Minneapolis barricades themselves at home, fearing deportation as Trump’s ‘Operation Metro Surge’ immigration raids sweep the city.
MINNEAPOLIS: For two months, Ana, Carlos and their son Luis have been prisoners in their own home, barricaded behind a deadbolt and a metal bar.
The Mexican family has lived in the Midwestern city for over a decade, but President Donald Trump’s second-term immigration crackdown has turned their American dream into a nightmare.
“It’s inhuman to live like this, a prisoner in your own home,” Ana told AFP using a pseudonym, as do her husband and son.
The 47-year-old mother fears for her four children, especially when her three US-born citizens leave the house.
“I’m always afraid that even though they’re citizens, they won’t be respected and that they could be taken away just because of the color of their skin,” she said, trembling.
Her 15-year-old son Luis, born in Mexico, longs to walk to a fast-food spot “right down the street” but cannot leave.
His father Carlos seethes at their ordeal, having paid nearly USD 11,000 in legal fees for visa applications that have dragged on for nearly three years.
Both parents have work permits, but these no longer protect against arrest or deportation under the current administration.
“When we realized Trump had removed the protection (of the work permit) against deportation, we felt as if he swindled us,” Carlos said.
Masked agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have intensified street sweeps in Democratic strongholds like Minneapolis, Los Angeles and Chicago.
Carlos said operations were more targeted during Trump’s first term, but now innocent people are being swept up in raids like ‘Operation Metro Surge’.
In Los Angeles last summer, more than half of immigrants detained in sweeps had no criminal record.
The family’s income has vanished since December, forcing them to borrow USD 1,500 to pay January’s USD 2,200 rent.
They pray the federal agents hunting immigrants in Minnesota get sent elsewhere, but doubt is creeping in.
“What if it never stops?” Carlos asked. “The president has three years to go, three years is a long time.”
Ana sometimes imagines returning to Mexico, but “the only thing keeping me here are my children’s dreams.”
