President Donald Trump has directed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to intensify deportation efforts in America's largest cities despite ongoing protests across the country. The directive specifically targets Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where the president claims "millions upon millions of illegal aliens reside."
According to Fox News, Trump announced this expansion Sunday evening through a Truth Social post, doubling down on his administration's immigration enforcement strategy even as anti-ICE demonstrations have erupted nationwide over the past two weeks.
The president's announcement comes amid escalating tensions between federal immigration authorities and protesters, with some demonstrations turning violent in cities like Los Angeles and Portland, resulting in injuries to both law enforcement officers and protesters.
What began as localized protests in Los Angeles on June 7 following ICE raids that resulted in hundreds of arrests has now expanded into a nationwide movement against the administration's deportation policies.
The president deployed the National Guard to Los Angeles when protests first erupted, a decision that drew immediate criticism from Democratic leaders who argued the military presence would only heighten tensions rather than restore order.
As demonstrations spread to other major cities, including Portland, Minneapolis, and Salt Lake City, incidents of violence have increased. In Salt Lake City on Saturday, an innocent bystander was fatally shot when event peacekeepers opened fire on a suspect who approached the crowd with a rifle, accidentally hitting the wrong person.
Trump characterized the expanded deportation operations as part of "the largest Mass Deportation Operation of Illegal Aliens in History" in his Sunday statement, framing the effort as fulfilling a key campaign promise.
"Our Federal Government will continue to be focused on the REMIGRATION of Aliens to the places from where they came, and preventing the admission of ANYONE who undermines the domestic tranquility of the United States," Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
The president also claimed that Democrats use illegal immigrants "to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens" – assertions that Democratic leaders have consistently rejected.
Democratic officials in targeted cities have vocally opposed the expanded ICE operations, arguing they're causing unnecessary fear and economic disruption in immigrant communities.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass criticized the president's approach on Sunday during an appearance on "State of the Union," saying, "I don't think the president understands that we have entire sectors of our economy that cannot function without immigrant labor."
According to the New York Times, the Trump administration has already called for a halt on deportation raids at agricultural sites, hotels, and restaurants, and instructed agents not to arrest "noncriminal collaterals." This modification reportedly came in response to concerns that sweeping raids were negatively impacting key industries throughout the United States.
The Trump administration's focus on major urban centers represents a strategic shift in immigration enforcement, targeting what the president called "the core of the Democrat Power Center."
ICE has conducted several high-profile raids across the country as part of Trump's mass-deportation initiative. While the administration maintains it is prioritizing criminal illegal immigrants, critics allege the operations are separating families and targeting non-criminal workers essential to the American economy.
In his Truth Social post, Trump praised ICE officers, who he said are "subjected to violence, harassment, and even threats from Radical Democrat Politicians," adding that "nothing will stop us from executing our mission, and fulfilling our Mandate to the American People."
