Protests unfolding nationwide against President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda come as Immigration and Customs Enforcement races to meet White House arrest quotas.
Since Trump took office, ICE, which had previously been operating with a set of guidelines focused on public safety and national security threats, has had to pivot as the key agency at the core of the president’s campaign promise to carry out mass deportations.
While the administration has touted its immigration crackdown publicly, privately officials have come under fire for failing to meet White House arrest quotas, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions,
For some agents, the greater latitude was a welcome move, allowing them to have more discretion on who they arrest. Still, agents have continued to come under pressure from senior Trump officials to arrest more people, including those with no criminal records.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, architect of the administration’s most hardline immigration policies, communicated that urgency in a meeting last month with senior ICE officials, telling agents to search anywhere and everywhere for undocumented immigrants, according to multiple sources.
ICE agents have shown up at routine immigration checks, immigration courts, and worksites, among other locations. The speed at which agents are trying to arrest migrants in the United States has raised alarm among immigrant advocates and former ICE officials.
White House border czar Tom Homan maintained this week that despite protests, ICE operations to enforce Trump’s immigration policies would continue.
“They’ll continue every day, not only in California, Los Angeles, they’re gonna continue every city across the country – we have teams throughout the country that are out there looking for those in the country,” Homan told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Monday on “The Source.” “We’re in every city and country, and ICE is going to be out every single day and will continue to be there regardless what’s happening in LA.”
The arrests have also strained ICE detention, serving as yet another reminder of the logistical challenges the administration still faces as it tries to ramp up deportations. As of Monday, there were about 55,000 people in ICE custody. The agency, which relies in part on cooperation with local jails, is only funded for 41,500 beds.
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