Advocates criticize abusive tactics used in immigration raids

Immigrant advocates have criticized the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials last month in a series of federal raids in South Florida. Advocates demanded an investigation Tuesday into the set of raids that left at least six Guatemalan men bloodied and bruised in a roundup of nearly 100 people, reports the New York Times.

Lawyers working with the detainees said they were concerned ICE was using human trafficking laws as a front for broader operations, and a cover for harsh tactics.

As the New York Times reported:

At a news conference, Mr. Rodriguez and others said agents had relied on vaguely worded warrants to invade people's homes and arrest nearly anyone who looked Hispanic. In all, according to the federal agency, 77 illegal immigrants were detained in the operation, and only a handful appear to have been charged with a crime.

In the case involving the accusations of beatings, none of the men have been charged with sex trafficking. Lawyers working with the men said the agents used excessive force: bursting into their home in Homestead about 8:30 p.m., pulling their guns in front of a 4-year-old girl, then forcing all 10 or 11 men inside onto the floor in handcuffs.

No guns or drugs were found. All the men were Guatemalan immigrants, and the advocates said at least six of them arrived at a nearby detention center with bruises and cuts.