The president's travel ban and a major immigration raid show a clear shift in the government's crackdown on immigration, and it has immigrant communities anxious. Washington bureau reporter Geoff Bennett filed the following report.
From New York to New Mexico, undocumented immigrants who were largely left alone or even protected under the Obama administration say they now live in fear of being detained or deported, their sense of security stripped away in the weeks since President Donald Trump signed an executive order expanding the authority of immigration officers.
During a Thursday news conference, the president defended his broader crackdown on illegal immigration.
"These are campaign promises," Trump said. "Some people are so surprised that we are having strong borders. Well, that's what I've been talking about for a year and a half. Strong borders."
Federal officials announced the arrests of more than 680 undocumented immigrants during the first full week of February.
It's unclear whether that number represents an actual escalation, as compared to the Obama era. But the types of arrests across the country have immigrant communities on edge.
In Arizona, a woman with two U.S. citizen children and no violent criminal record was deported after a routine check-in last week.
Her background and situation are similar to a mother in Colorado, Jeanette Vizguerra. She came from Mexico 20 years ago and checked in regularly with ICE agents, and had her stay of removal denied.
In a statement, ICE says her two misdemeanor convictions make her a priority for agents.
"These have been eight very long years of struggle to stay with my family," Vizguerra said through an interpreter.
And in Seattle, the arrest of 23-year-old Daniel Ramirez Medina is possibly the first of an immigrant who qualified for "DACA," the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. His lawyer, Makr Rosenbaum, says he's protected as a so-called DREAMer.
"He has no criminal record. There are no criminal charges pending against him," Rosenbaum said.
Trump suggested to reporters Thursday that he would keep in place protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Until it's official, immigrant communities are staying on high alert.