"The security camera catches how Sebastian Renoj, grainy in the low-fi footage, leaves the block sometime between 5 and 6 a.m., pulls his hood up to stave off New York's winter cold, and walks off down the sidewalk."
"By lunchtime, every Guatemalan deli, restaurant, store and Facebook group already knows that ICE has arrested Renoj, 57, the deacon of the Iglesia de Evangelizacion Misionera Jovenes Cristianos, right outside his front door."
"Neither the individuals taken away nor their families have legal status, and the detainees end up bowing their heads and signing the voluntary transfer back to a country they no longer know, just to keep the ones left behind safe."
ICE agents have been conducting a series of arrests in Bensonhurst, specifically targeting Guatemalan immigrants. On January 15, Sebastian Renoj was arrested outside his home, followed by six other bricklayers. The arrests occur quietly, with the community quickly becoming aware of the situation. This ongoing operation represents a low-intensity siege on the neighborhood, affecting families who lack legal status. Many detainees are forced to sign voluntary transfers back to their home countries, leaving their families behind in a difficult situation.
Read at english.elpais.com
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