Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) "There is a lot happening. The Trump administration is getting an A for effort for being super aggressive," said Immigration attorney Rosanna Berardi, while discussing recent ICE raids on WBEN.
"We're getting flooded with calls. People are concerned. They don't want any issues crossing the border. We're telling people what they can do and what they can't do and to make sure they have solid travel documents."
ICE is taking a 'worst, first' approach with immigration raids. That is, arresting migrants with criminal records first.
But Berardi added that the administration is not just throwing people on airplanes. She said it's complicated.
"We are seeing arrests. That doesn't necessarily mean they have been removed or deported. They're getting people off the streets, prosecuting them under state laws and then down the road they may be removed, if the courts deem them," Berardi explained.
She also stressed that undocumented migrants are not going anywhere. They are afforded due process under the US constitution that will allow them to remain in the U.S. while their asylum application is pending. That process can take several years. "Unless they're committing serious level offenses," she said, they're not going anywhere."
There have been three arrests so far in Western New York. Does she expect more?
"It's hard to say. Right now it appears that the administration is going after the bigger cities with more concentrated known criminals. I'm not sure Buffalo is a priority for this administration."