The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly preparing for a national operation to round up and deport hundreds of Central American families who have fled violence in their home countries. Citing unnamed government officials, The Washington Post reports the wave of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could begin as early as January. The officials say the proposed operation has been highly controversial inside the Obama administration and that it has not yet received final DHS approval. In response, Gregory Chen of the American Immigration Lawyers Association said: “This administration has never acknowledged the truth: that these families are refugees seeking asylum who should be given humanitarian protection rather than being detained or rounded up. When other countries are welcoming far more refugees, the U.S. should be ashamed for using jails and even contemplating large-scale deportation tactics.” The news of the possible raids comes on the heels of the Obama administration’s announcement Tuesday that it had deported over 235,000 people in the 2015 fiscal year. It’s the lowest number of deportations in one year since President Obama took office.