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The specter of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is 

ICE — a 20,000-person federal agency so sprawling it has its 

 — is tasked with policing immigration laws in the United States’ interior. Border Patrol covers lands within 100 miles from international borders. 

President Trump has pushed ICE to arrest thousands of migrant families in recent raids, making people without documents fearful of agents targeting them in raids. Some people have even 

Minnesota has both Border Patrol and ICE agents, including an ICE field office in St. Paul. The agency was formed in 2003 when post-9/11 politics placed a stricter emphasis on national security, said longtime immigration reporter Debbie Sontag. 

However, Trump wasn’t the first president to preside over sweeping ICE arrests, Sontag told MPR News. The Obama administration did “its fair share” of arrests and deportations, too, she said.

Then they did it again

Immigration roundup that targeted 2,100 nets 35 arrests

In Obama’s last few years in office, Sontag said, “the focus was on immigrants with serious criminal records. Those with seriously bad immigration histories — that is, they’ve been picked up and deported multiple, multiple times.” 

But Trump’s frequent anti-immigrant rhetoric and national immigration roundups, the most recent of which 

“After Trump took office, ICE was emboldened and empowered,” Sontag said. “Everybody was suddenly fair game.”

Below is a guide on legal rights when dealing with ICE representatives and experts’ advice for how to handle situations. Information from the 

. The ACLU and AILA links have more information, as well as know-your-rights guides in non-English languages. 

Use the audio player above to hear MPR News host Stephanie Curtis’ interview with Sontag on the audio player above.

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The specter of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is stoking fears in immigrant communities in Minnesota and across the country. Here’s how to handle interactions with agents.

MPR News guest host Stephanie Curtis interviews Debbie Sontag, a longtime immigration reporter.

A brief history of ICE, immigration police of America's interior

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer

Legal rights, advice if you're approached by immigration agents

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