President Trump’s immigration policy continues to fuel the political divide

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.— Immigration Attorney Vanessa Frank says it’s been a busy year, and she’s worried about the future of democracy.
 
Vanessa Frank, Immigration Attorney
“Whenever a government has asked that everybody in the country sign up to be registered, just to make sure everybody who is here is supposed to be here, it never ends well.”
 
During the first 100 days of President Trump’s term, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it has arrested 66,000 undocumented immigrants and removed more than 65,000 of them.
 
They say three in four arrests were criminal illegal aliens.
 
That aggressive immigration enforcement can be felt here at home.
 
“ They're really going after anyone who is here undocumented, regardless whether they have a criminal record or not, whether they've been here for 30 years or two years or, you know, one month. That's the way we see it,” said 805 Undocufund Executive Director Primitiva Hernandez.
 
805 Undocufund Executive Director Primitiva Hernandez says the first verified sighting was on January 26th on Santa Barbara’s east side.  
 
Since then, she says there have been 39 arrests on the Central Coast, with Santa Maria seeing the most.
 
And it’s not just undocumented folks that are afraid.
 
“We've been getting phone calls from U.S. citizens who are afraid to leave the country, afraid they won't get back in people with green cards, lawful permanent residents afraid to leave the country.”
 
But local Trump supporters say he’s doing a great job, saying it’s all in the name of public safety.
 
According to the latest PBS poll, 87% of Republicans approve of the way Trump is handling immigration so far.
 
"If you're an illegal alien in the United States, this message is for you. You cannot hide from ICE,” said Trump Administration Border Czar Tom Homan.
 
Border crossings have also dropped to historically low levels.