Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.) said he hopes President Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, will carry out the immigration enforcement operations with “justice and mercy.”
In an interview on NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Jackson said he supports arresting immigrants who crossed the border illegally and have committed crimes in the U.S. Still, he expressed concern that law-abiding residents would be swept up in the mass deportation efforts.
“I think this has been a campaign of fear,” Jackson said. “Of course, we all agree that people that are violent should be arrested, people that are here unlawfully that have committed heinous crimes should be removed.
He suggested other Democrats share his view, adding, “To try to say one side is for this, and another side is trying to sow anarchy and disorder, is absolutely false.”
But, Jackson said, people protected by programs like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or who have Temporary Protective Status (TPS) should still be granted their rights.
“We do believe in the rule of law, but those persons that were innocent, they should have the presumption of innocence. Those persons that are under DACA or temporary protective status should be afforded a right to a presumption of innocence,” he said.
“So I just hope that he goes forward with a degree of justice and mercy,” Jackson continued, referring to Homan. “I don’t want to see and hear about families being torn apart, children being separated from parents. We can have an orderly process to deal with immigration reform.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a small handful of other federal agencies have conducted raids over the past few days, which led to the arrest of more than 2,000 people, including almost 1,000 on Sunday alone, ICE said.
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