NORCROSS, Ga. — Sunday marks two weeks since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents started their targeted operations, arresting immigrants who are not in the country legally.
ICE officials said they are actively working that operation and making arrests every day.
Immigrants and allies continue to fight back with protests. A couple hundred people rallied Sunday afternoon on Buford Highway in Norcross protesting for immigrant rights.
“It’s very important to consistently show that were not afraid,” said Ngaya Swai with the Party for Socialism and Liberation, who helped sponsor the rally.
Sunday’s protest was one of several the organization hosted over the past week, all bringing out hundreds of people.
As a daughter of immigrants, my emotions are high,” said Ivana Fiallos, who attended the rally. “I feel the fear of my community, of my family and friends that I hold so close to my heart. I just feel it is so important to stand up for their rights.”
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ICE started their targeted operation on January 26. ICE officials said they were focusing on arresting criminals but also said anyone who entered the country illegally is at risk of being deported.
An ICE representative told Channel 2′s Eryn Rogers the agency is not releasing the number of arrests in the Atlanta area yet.
However, on X, ICE posted they arrested two violent criminals in Atlanta. One man was wanted for vehicular homicide and hit and run. Another person was wanted for child sexual abuse.
However, people at the protest Sunday said not all immigrants are criminals, and they feel the way the government is going about the arrests is wrong.
“It’s very sad, and it’s not done right,” said Paola Hernandez, who organized Sunday’s rally.
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Hernandez said she knows the impact these arrests have on families. She said both of her parents were detained in 2018 and 2019 when she was 17 years old.
“Bills still come, and it was on me,” Hernandez said.
She said her parents have tried to apply for citizenship for the past six years, but after ICE’s operation started a couple weeks ago, they got their answer.
“Lawyers paid, courts, we all went to, all the check-ins with ICE done, but we got denied, so it’s upsetting,” Hernandez said. “We tried to do things the right way, but there is no right way.”
She said there needs to be an easier path to citizenship.
In the first week of the operation, ICE reported nearly 7,000 arrests.
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