ICE: No detentions during Gustav evacuations

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials claimed that they will not conduct any arrests of illegal immigrants trying to evacuate due to Hurricane Gustav. “There are no immigration enforcement operations,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson Kelly Nantel to ABC News as Latinos in the New Orleans area are worried of ICE authorities:

A dearth of Latinos through the day at a train and bus depot dubbed "The Gate" because it is the New Orleans staging spot for evacuees worried volunteer Lucas Diaz.

"Latinos are fearful that by being taken to shelters they will be turned over to immigration officials," said Diaz, a member of a nonprofit group that works with the Latino community in New Orleans.

"They don't trust," Diaz told AFP. "Often people along the way, like shelter workers, take to being ICE agents and turn people in."

New Orleans has received an influx of Latino laborers and businesses that have assisted in the post-Katrina reconstruction. Their presence has not always been welcomed, however, and recent mass raids in Iowa and Mississippi have provoked fears in the community.

The category 3 hurricane with possible 130 mile-per-hour winds is expected to hit the Gulf coast around midday on Monday. Analysts believe that Gustav will cause as much or more damage than Katrina did three years ago.

Gustav ravaged through the Caribbean over the past week and killed at least sixty people on Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Image- Newsweek.com (“Residents of New Orleans carry their belongings while evacuating at the city's Greyhound Bus and Amtrak station.”)

Sources- AFP, sunherald.com, Associated Press, The Latin Americanist, ABC News, Reuters, China Daily, IHT