Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren is among those in Congress leading the charge against recent immigration raids. | Getty House Democrats slam White House for immigration raids

Dozens of House Democrats are rebuking the Obama administration over immigration raids targeting Central American immigrants in a letter to be released later this week, calling on the president to “immediately” halt the controversial operations.

The missive, led by three Democrats with close ties to immigration policy, takes President Barack Obama to task for welcoming refugees from other parts of the world but treating the immigrants from Central America differently. The Democrats argue that the administration should give them protected status, rather than deporting them — although they are immigrants who have already been ordered deported.


At issue are a series of raids that began this month, which so far have rounded up more than 120 immigrants here illegally who arrived in the United States after May 2014.

“The DHS operation has generated widespread fear and panic in immigrant communities and has far-reaching impacts beyond the alleged targets for removal,” the letter, led by Democratic Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Lucille Roybal-Allard of California, and Luis Gutierrez of Illinois. “[W]e believe that this operation should be immediately suspended until we can ensure no mother or child will be sent back to a country where they would face persecution, torture or death.”

The letter to Obama, obtained by POLITICO in advance of its release, also criticizes the administration for not presenting a “comprehensive refugee solution” to the rising migration numbers from Central America, calling Obama’s current deterrent strategy “ineffective.”

“You and your administration have upheld time-honored American values by offering refuge to those fleeing violence and disorder in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. We commend you for that,” the letter reads. “However, these same fundamental American values have not been applied in your administration’s policies towards Central American refugee mothers and children.”

The raids, conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and disclosed through leaks in the press just before Christmas, have sowed deep intraparty division among Democrats.

The White House and other administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, have defended the raids as a necessary deterrent tactic, particularly with the number of illegal migration from Central America rising in the last several months. They have also emphasized that the undocumented immigrants have been ordered deported by a judge and have exhausted all legal appeals.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest again stressed Monday that under the administration’s immigration enforcement guidelines, the immigrants who arrived in the United States illegally from Central America are top priorities for deportation because they came here after January 2014.

“I think our desire to make clear that individuals should not embark on the dangerous journey from Central America to the southwest border, that that’s a case that we’ve tried to tell in a variety of ways,” Earnest said.

But congressional Democrats, as well as the party’s presidential contenders in 2016, have sharply criticized the raids as an overly aggressive strategy targeting a vulnerable population. The immigrants are coming primarily from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras — three Central American countries steeped in violence.

Instead of the raids, Democratic lawmakers said the administration should treat the Central American immigrants as refugees and grant them Temporary Protected Status, which would halt their deportations. Democrats also called for safe havens for the migrants in other countries and a regional refugee resettlement program.

On Monday, Earnest ruled out granting TPS to the Central American immigrants, saying that “at this point, our policy will remain the same.”

A meeting between key House Democrats and two top Obama administration officials over the ICE raids last week hasn't seemed to have quelled any of the lawmakers’ concerns. And Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last week in Nevada that he has also urged Homeland Security officials to halt the raids until “we can find out a better way to do this.”

Members of House Democratic leadership who have endorsed the letter so far include House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.). Roughly 90 House Democrats have signed onto the letter, and dozens more are expected before the letter is formally released on Tuesday.

“Desperate Central American mothers and children will continue to flee to the United States and seek protection, regardless of the deterrent actions taken by this administration,” the Democrats wrote. “We are gravely concerned that DHS may have already removed mothers and children from the United States and returned them to violent and dangerous situations in their home countries.”

Nick Gass contributed to this report.