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Seattle immigrants on edge about ICE raids planned for this weekend

caption: FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2018, file photo U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escort a target to lockup during a raid in Richmond, Va. Carrying out President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies has exposed ICE to unprecedented public scrutiny and criticism, even though officers say they're doing largely the same job they did before the election, prioritizing criminals.
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FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2018, file photo U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escort a target to lockup during a raid in Richmond, Va. Carrying out President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies has exposed ICE to unprecedented public scrutiny and criticism, even though officers say they're doing largely the same job they did before the election, prioritizing criminals.
AP Photo/Steve Helber, File

For some undocumented immigrants in Seattle, this is going to be an anxious weekend. Reports of national ICE raids has them on alert.

And while Seattle is not on the target list this time, there is a sense of heightened tension.

Phones keep ringing and people want to know — are raids going to happen this weekend?

“I think there’s a lot of fear and hypervigilance," says Sandy Restrepo, an immigration attorney at Colectiva Legal del Pueblo.

Restrepo says clients keep calling, worried Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents might show up at their door.

ICE has said its priorities are on people who have missed their court dates or who have a criminal history. But Restrepo and other advocates worry about what ICE calls "collateral arrests."

“Which means if someone is picked up, they also pick up other family members even if they don’t have deportation orders," Restrepo says.

Immigration advocates around the Puget Sound area say they will be hosting more know-your-rights workshops in coming weeks.

Churches that provide sanctuary to immigrants are also ready to support and say their doors are open for those who need it.

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