WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to ramp up efforts to detain and deport migrants from large Democratic-run cities, escalating his illegal immigration crackdown despite widespread protests against the policy.
Trump called for an expanded deportation blitz in an evening June 15 post on Truth Social, challenging ICE officers to “do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”
His order came after large protests in response to ICE raids erupted in Los Angeles last week, prompting him to deploy the National Guard and Marines to quell rioters, and spread to cities across the country during the “No Kings” rallies on June 14.
Trump presidency: Illegal border crossings at record lows as Trump crackdown spreads
Trump said to achieve his deportation goals, “we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside.”
“These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens,” he said.
Trump said he wants ICE officers to focus on “our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role,” adding that: “You don’t hear about Sanctuary Cities in our Heartland!”
“Now go, GET THE JOB DONE!” Trump added.
‘Our farmers are being hurt badly’: Trump vows changes to immigration crackdown to protect migrant farmers, hotel workers
Trump sent a much different signal about his deportation aims last week when he promised future policy changes to protect migrant farmers, hotel workers, and others in the leisure industry who have been among those deported. Trump cited hearing from people in the farm and leisure industries concerned about worker shortages because of mass deportations.
“Our farmers are being hurt badly,” Trump said on June 12. “You know, they have very good workers. They’ve worked for them for 20 years. They’re not citizens, but they’ve turned out to be, you know, great.”
Even before Trump’s latest charge to ICE, the agency had dramatically expanded its deportation efforts after the White House demanded the agency increase its arrests of migrants in the country illegally, Reuters reported. Daily quotas increased from 1,000 arrests per day to 3,000.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, said in late May that the administration had deported around 200,000 people over four months ‒ a total that lags behind the deportations during a similar period under former President Joe Biden. The White House has said the discrepancy is the result of fewer migrants coming to the border.
Migrants seeking to cross the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped significantly during Trump’s first five months of his second term. Border Patrol agents have seen their monthly encounters of migrants and asylum seekers drop to fewer than 10,000, down from more than 100,000 one year ago.
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump directs ICE to expand deportations in Democratic-run big cities
