Manhattan’s Chinatown Fears ICE Raids
By Olivia Abraham and Sruthi Dommaraju
Welcome to Manhattan’s Chinatown! For generations, tourists and native New Yorkers alike have dined on dim sum and bought counterfeit handbags and fresh fish. Now, Chinatown has a new visitor: ICE.
Although raids on Spanish-speaking migrants from south of the border have received much media attention, ICE’s largest target in the city is actually the Chinese community. A report from NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer states that Chinese immigrants account for 21 percent of the total immigration court cases in New York City, or about 10,000, which is a larger amount than any other group. Most deportation cases involve Queens, but Manhattan’s Chinatown is vulnerable as well.
ICE often has a target list when conducting raids, which are usually performed in the early mornings. According to the Immigrant Defense Project, they target homes, workplaces, courthouses, homeless shelters, and community housing for people with mental illnesses.
The raids are spreading distrust and anxiety throughout the neighborhood, said Zishun, a community organizer at the Chinese Staff and Workers Association. “ICE raids are a symptom of a larger problem being used to put fear into the immigrants,” he said. “When they’re fearful, they don’t speak up so they keep to themselves,” That means that he has only heard of cases relating to undocumented Chinese immigrants after they were deported.
ICE declined to comment for this article despite repeated phone calls, emails, and an in-person visit.
Undocumented Asian immigrants are not just a local issue. Studies by the Migration Policy Institute found that three percent of the total undocumented population in America is Chinese, which amounts to around 362,000 people. New York has a large undocumented Asian population, with 166,806 counted Asian migrants total, according to the Demographic Data and Policy Research On Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
Deportations have been rising in New York City, and not just with undocumented Asian immigrants. The removal of non-criminal immigrants rose 155 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. According to ICE’s statistics, by the end of 2017, 2,006 “removals” occurred, of which 791 were non-criminal.
The raids are regarded as inhumane by many Chinatown residents, including a woman in her 20s who identified herself only as Lily. She sat on the worn brick ground of Sara D. Roosevelt Park surrounded by Asian children kicking a ball on the basketball court. She hesitated before she spoke with raw emotion. Lily revealed that friends of friends had been swooped up. “It’s terrible,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “It’s insidious, and violent, and un-American… and very scary.” She wore a tight smile.
Another resident, who went by Deborah, said no one should be arrested, and it certainly wasn’t fair to focus on one group alone. “If you’re gonna do it, you gotta do it to everyone.”
But Brenda, an immigrant from Mexico, was resigned. “There’s a price to get here,” she said with a nervous smile.
