WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – After one week in office, the Trump administration said ICE has steadily increased daily arrests. On Monday, the agency said it made 1,179 arrests, well above the daily average for fiscal year 2024 of 310.
The Trump administration directed the DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals and FBI to arrest undocumented immigrants.
President Donald Trump indicated immigration agents will prioritize violent criminals but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that’s not the only arrests agents will make.
“The individuals who have committed heinous acts on the interior of our country and who have terrorized law-abiding American citizens, absolutely those should be the priority of ICE,” Leavitt said. “But that doesn’t mean that the other illegal criminals who enter our nation’s borders are off the table.”
The Department of Defense released video of U.S. servicemembers working at the U.S. border. The DEA in Colorado posted a video of agents detaining members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Agents said they detained 49 people — 41 were here illegally.
On Tuesday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem oversaw immigration arrests in New York. She addressed her department for the first time Tuesday afternoon.
“We will do everything we can to protect the American people,” Noem said. “We will exercise all legal authorities we have to protect this country.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said he launched an investigation into “sanctuary cities,” places where local law enforcement isn’t allowed to enforce immigration law.
Comer sent letters to the Mayors of New York, Boston, Chicago and Denver, requesting information about immigration policies.
“There’s a real goal here to stoke fear into the American people,” the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, said in a press conference. “We are a welcoming city. We’re proud of that work.”
The Mayors of New York and Chicago said despite the sanctuary city label, local law enforcement is communicating with immigration agents as they carry out enforcement operations.
ICE said agents are not conducting widespread raids, but targeted operations.
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