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So far since President Trump returned to office, ICE has arrested more than 600,000 people. And last month, arrests by ICE reached a record high of 1,400 per day. The agency is leaning on tactics that it used earlier this year in West Virginia. NPR's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán reports on Operation Country Roads.
SERGIO MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN, BYLINE: Last winter, Staci Tighe was struggling through an illness. Visits from her friend Mohamed Guezoui kept her going.
STACI TIGHE: Mo came by every day to check - hey, you need anything? Can I do anything to help? He wanted to support me through that illness. And then, you know, he got taken.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Mo, as she calls him, was born in Algeria and moved to the U.S. after marrying an American citizen. That marriage fell apart, leaving Mo stranded in Appalachia with few connections until he met Staci at karaoke. Late last year, Mo was working his shift at the King Kabab down the street from her house when three masked ICE officers came in and took him away. He was eventually deported.
TIGHE: Mo was probably one of the first people to get detained. And then the balls just started rolling.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: More and more immigrants started getting detained in West Virginia. DHS, then still run by Kristi Noem, launched an enforcement search in the red state that eventually picked up around 600 people. The agency dubbed it Operation Country Roads after the John Denver anthem.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS")
JOHN DENVER: (Singing) Take me home to the place I belong.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Those proud lyrics sound twisted now to Tighe.
TIGHE: It's insulting because "Country Roads" song is a welcoming song. It's the place I belong. And they're kicking people out.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Operation Country Roads went mostly under the radar, partially because it happened during the much more violent and publicized Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis and because it relied much more on local law enforcement to carry out the arrests. DHS did not respond directly to questions about the West Virginia operation, but current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin endorsed this tactic at his Senate confirmation hearing.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARKWAYNE MULLIN: My goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day. My goal is for people to understand we're out there, we're protecting them and we're working with them.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: This tactic and partnership with local law enforcement have been successful, according to data from DHS. In July, ICE daily arrests reached a record high of 1,400 nationally. Now, that doesn't mean all of those arrested will be deported. And this is where we look again at West Virginia, where many of these proceedings are falling apart in court. Kyle Vass with the ACLU of West Virginia says attorneys have been challenging detentions through a key legal resource.
KYLE VASS: We're seeing really successful habeas petition filings. Sometimes people are being released the same day that they're picked up by ICE.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: The federal courts in West Virginia have also pushed back. Four judges there have become a big hurdle for Trump's plans. They have called the administration's tactics wrong and, quote, "an assault on the constitutional order."
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Are you by chance here for the immigration hearing?
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: On a windy day in Clarksburg, dozens of people are trying to get into the federal courthouse.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Well, let's go in and see if we can actually do anything.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Most, if not all, of them are here to show support for Erick Cristal Cumes, a man who came to the U.S. illegally and was detained on his job at a popular Mexican restaurant. His U.S. citizen wife, Lauren Cristal, is inside the courtroom, stoic, holding a tissue in one hand, hoping to catch a glimpse of her husband who is attending via video call from a detention center in a different state.
LAUREN CRISTAL: I think part of you always wants to believe it's not going to happen to you too. You know, not me, not my husband.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: I talked to Lauren outside right after the hearing. Erick was not released that day.
CRISTAL: This is real pain that I'm going through and that many other people are going through.
MARTÍNEZ-BELTRÁN: Life will not return to normal for the newlyweds. Just before airing this story, we got in touch with Lauren again. Erick's asylum application was denied. He decided not to appeal the decision. Instead, he's awaiting a date for his deportation. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR News, West Virginia.
(SOUNDBITE OF SHADRACH'S "BROWN BIRD") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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