ICE raids are causing a spike of pets in L.A. shelters after owners detained
Immigration raids leaving pets with no option as owners abruptly taken away
Los Angeles County has a new task: taking care of dogs and cats after their owners were detained or deported in immigration raids that picked up this summer in the U.S. under the Trump administration.
From June 10, the county has taken in 28 animals, 22 of whom are dogs. Eleven dogs and two cats have been placed with homes since then.
In the Downey shelter, two cats come in together in a carrier and some dogs come in boxes and plastic bins. Then they are placed in cages waiting for adoption. The barking and meowing can get loud.
"The animals have become sort of a victim in this situation because, to no fault of their own, they're finding themselves in the care centres," said Christopher Valles, public information officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control.
Increased immigration raids have been unfolding in the U.S. for months as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's anti-immigration push. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have shown up at schools, workplaces and at immigration appointments to detain tens of thousands of people, actions which have been challenged by courts and criticized by government officials.
In June, Trump called National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles in response to protests against the immigration raids.
On Friday, a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court's decision to temporarily bar immigration-related arrests in Los Angeles without probable cause.
The Trump administration had sought to appeal the lower court's order, but judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit agreed with the lower court that government agents should be blocked from detaining people based solely on discriminatory reasoning such as presumed race or ethnicity, or speaking Spanish or accented English.
The city of Los Angeles is also part of a lawsuit filed in June by the American Civil Liberties Union accusing federal agents of using racial policing and other unlawful tactics to meet Trump's administration's immigration quotas.
In the meantime, shelters are feeling the pressure as more animals are left with nowhere to go in the wake of their owners' abrupt detainment.
While the dogs and cats wait to be placed in homes, the county will give pets a health check and have them groomed if that is needed, Valles said.
"The only approach that we changed on how we operate when it comes to the deportation operations in our region is how can we better assist the community, because this is something that we have never seen before," Valles said.
Valles advised that families who have an animal and are concerned that they could be impacted by these increased immigration raids put a plan in place for their pets to be taken in by a close friend or family member in the event of a detainment.
"During these challenging times, with the deportation operations that are going on, we are monitoring it closely, but have a plan. Create a bio for your dog, reach out to your neighbour, your family, who can be an alternative to surrendering your pet at the care centre," Valles said.
"We know these are challenging times, but if we can keep that animal with the owner or with the family or out of the care centre, that's our goal."