DOGGONE

Pets Abandoned After Migrants Disappear Into ICE Custody

Reports of mowers left running and spikes in animal shelter arrivals have been linked to Donald Trump’s deportation push.

ICE raids are leaving a ghostly trail of belongings abandoned, including orphaned family pets. Cats and dogs are reportedly among the belongings being frozen in time by immigration-related arrests, which have spiked since June as the White House pursues a tough stance on deportations. ICE told Axios that it “does NOT impound property,” with incidents of pick-ups by masked officials and subsequent belongings left-behind spiking across the country. Chris Ames, a resident of Ontario, California told KTLA-TV that last month, a pair of gardeners were picked up as they cut his grass. “They left the lawnmower going right here on the front lawn... They threw my gardeners’ phones in the car with the car keys, left everything open, and just took off.” There are fears that the possessions left behind are vulnerable to theft, while the director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, Janet Steele told Axios they had taken in 19 pets “as a specific result of immigration detention.” Reports now suggest activists are going out of their way to collect property and return it to family members.