WASHINGTON – Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump, criticized President Donald Trump’s recent immigration enforcement actions as “unacceptable and inhumane” in a social media post.
Her remarks come as federal agents have arrested immigrants in courthouses across the United States, including in Florida, stripping them of due process protections, as NBC News reported. Family members and pro-immigration advocates have said that in some of the arrests, immigration judges dropped active cases against migrants, potentially expediting the deportation process.
The Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration enforcement spurred protests in Los Angeles, in which some demonstrators hurled large chunks of broken concrete at officers, slashed tires and defaced buildings, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
On June 7, Trump ordered 2,000 National Guard troops deployed to the region over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens,” Garcia, who served as the deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security during Trump’s first term, wrote in a tweet on June 7.
“But what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings – in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims – all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,” she said, referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. “This undermines the sense of fairness and justice that the American people value.”
She added that she stood with Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who also denounced Trump’s actions.
“I remain clear in my position: anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.” Salazar wrote in a statement on June 6.
Salazar said she would meet with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this week, along with Florida Republican Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez, to “personally explain the dire situation unfolding in South Florida.”
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Latinas for Trump founder blasts ‘inhumane’ immigration arrests
