ICE raids leave abandoned pets and property in their wake

Federal immigration raids across the U.S. are leaving many immigrants no choice but to abandon their vehicles, work tools and even cherished family dogs and cats.Why it matters: The forsaken pets and property can pose safety problems for cities and towns, along with ramping up the stress for family members who also fear being detained.Unlike local law enforcement agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents don't appear to be impounding property after arrests, leaving work trucks, food carts and lawnmowers for the taking. With few systems in place to confiscate property or pets after immigration arrests, new networks of volunteers have erupted and cities are scrambling to come up with solutions.Zoom in: The abandoned pets and property phenomenon appears to be most common now in Southern California, especially after what activists are calling the "Summer of ICE," referring to federal immigration raids that began in June.Immigrant advocates from San Diego to Los Angeles to the Inland Empire are reporting immigrants "disappearing" after masked agents quickly arrest them, forcing them to leave their cars behind with keys and phones inside.Ontario resident Chris Ames told KTLA-TV that agents took away two gardeners mowing his lawn last month. "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." Zoom out: An immigrant family was seen in a video shown on KTLA-TV earlier this month giving an emotional farewell to a dog after receiving orders to leave the country.In California, Nina Thompson of the San Diego Humane Society tells Axios they had to take in two dogs in June, resulting from an ICE detention case.In Texas, a spokeswoman for Harris County Public Health tells Axios that Houston-area shelters have seen an increase in stray pet intake this year, but does not know if it is connected to ICE raids.In Florida, Janet Steele, director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control, told the Miami New Times that she's aware of at least 19 pets surrendered to the shelter or its rescue partners this year "as a specific result of immigration detention."In North Carolina, an immigrant rights group is providing information on how to care for pets in the event of an arrest.Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Axios that "ICE does NOT impound property."The department didn't offer any more comment. What they're saying: "What we've seen is...someone gets arrested and their property just stays there," Tamara Marquez of the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (ICIJ) tells Axios."Either organizations or community members take it upon themselves to find the family members so they can go back and get their property back."Marquez said so far in the city of San Bernardino, California, there haven't been reports of people stealing left-behind property because activists have been aggressive in keeping track.Meanwhile, police in Santa Ana, California, are urging residents to report any abandoned vehicles or belongings they believe may belong to someone detained by federal immigration officers, per a social media post. Between the lines: The breakdown in property and pet abandonment is likely a result of local police refusing to cooperate with ICE on immigration enforcement.Typically, local police are responsible for impounding property and turning pets over to animal control or shelters.What we're watching: The issue of vacated property and pets has even become a campaign issue in the mayoral race in Albuquerque, New Mexico — a city that routinely has one of the country's highest rates of auto theft.Incumbent Democratic Mayor Tim Keller is facing a challenge from fellow Democrat Alex Uballez, a former U.S. attorney, who is making how the city responds to immigration detentions part of his campaign.Uballez says on his campaign website that the city should "direct city services to recover and reconnect the property, personal belongings, and pets of those taken by ICE to family members."A spokesman for the mayor did not know if the city had any current plans to recover property, although residents can call local police to inquire about raids.

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