Following President Donald Trump’s return to office on January 20 with a vow to crack down on illegal immigrants, immigration enforcement operations have started to sweep through major cities in the United States.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it arrested 956 people on Sunday. But an NBC News report found immigration authorities had close to 1,200 arrests that day and just 613, or nearly 52%, were considered “criminal arrests.”
The rest appeared to be nonviolent offenders or people who have not committed any criminal offence other than crossing the border illegally. Being undocumented immigrant is considered a civil offence, not a crime.
Arrest numbers swelled again the following day, as the agency said it made 1,179 arrests and 853 detainers were lodged Monday.
While the Trump administration has touted the crackdown as targeting criminals, there has been concern over law-abiding migrants and those with permits also being rounded up. Officials have not disclosed numbers differentiating migrants with criminal histories and those without who are in custody.
Operations began Sunday in Chicago, New York City began Tuesday, and three officials said they were planning for the next operation to take place in Aurora, Colorado, on Thursday.
The raids are being carried out with ICE; U.S. Marshalls; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI and other federal agencies.
Next week, three more cities are expected to be targeted.
ICE’s 25 field offices were told in a meeting with senior leadership over the weekend to enhance their “routine operations” by meeting a quota of between 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day, the sources said. The quota was first reported by the Washington Post.
As of Tueday afternoon, there have been at least 4,829 arrests in the crackdowns since inauguration. In September 2024, the latest data available, the Biden administration arrested an average of 282 people per day. Over the last six days, the Trump administration’s daily average is 753.
Here are the major cities where arrests have unfolded:
New York City:
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem joined immigrant enforcement operations in New York that began Tuesday.
“We are doing this right — doing exactly what President. @realDonaldTrump promised the American people — making our streets safe. Live this AM from NYC. I’m on it,” Noem wrote on X.
She later shared video showing a person being detained, writing, “criminal alien with kidnapping, assault & burglary charges is now in custody.”
Mayor Eric Adams issued a statement on what appeared to be the arrest Noem mentioned, confirming that a criminal suspect in New York City was taken into custody.
“I directed the NYPD to coordinate with DHS’ Homeland Security Investigations and other federal law enforcement agencies — as allowed by law — to conduct a targeted operation to arrest an individual connected with multiple violent crimes, both here in New York and in Aurora, Colorado, including burglary, kidnapping, extortion, firearms possession, menacing with a firearm, crime of violence, and other charges,” he said.
Adams said, “we will not hesitate to partner with federal authorities to bring violent criminals to justice — just as we have done for years. Our commitment to protecting our city’s law-abiding residents, both citizens and immigrants, remains unwavering.”
The New York DEA office posted several photos on X saying it was working with other federal law enforcement partners in immigration crackdowns, showing the arrests of multiple people.
Chicago:
In Chicago, migrant arrest crackdowns took place Sunday.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told NBC News that among the people arrested in Chicago, six were convicted of serious offences, two were previously convicted of murder and aggravated sexual battery, and multiple others were gang members.
Arrest efforts continued Monday. There were 10 teams of about 10 federal agents each fanned out across the city, a source familiar with the operations said Monday.
Chicago is a sanctuary city that protects migrants seeking citizenship. Under those protections, cooperation between city police and immigration agents is prohibited, NBC Chicago reported. Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed in a statement on X that Chicago police were not involved in the ICE activity.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told CNN on Sunday he supports deporting people convicted of violent crimes, but disagrees with targeting those who follow the law. “These are not people who are causing problems in our country, and what we need is a path to citizenship for them,” he said.
Los Angeles:
The Los Angeles offices of Homeland Security Investigations and the DEA said they were working with partners to conduct law enforcement operations in accordance with the Trump administration’s immigration priorities.
The offices shared photos of law enforcement agents taking people into custody.
The City Council formally adopted a sanctuary city ordinance late last year that prohibits city resources or personnel from being used to aid in federal enforcement of immigration laws, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Philadelphia:
Video showed several people being detained near a Philadelphia business on Tuesday. The immigration rights group Juntos said it was an ICE raid and that seven people were detained.
The raid happened at a car wash in the Juniata Park neighborhood, NBC Philadelphia reported.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment or details Tuesday night.
Phoenix:
The Phoenix office of the DEA said Sunday it was working with the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security “with their immigration efforts,” sharing photos of officers in law enforcement vests.
San Diego:
The DEA’s San Diego office also shared on X photos of agents arresting people on Sunday.
Denver:
On Sunday, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division executed a search warrant at a makeshift club in Denver and arrested “numerous individuals” associated and connected with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TdA.
Forty-nine people were inside at the time, and ICE determined at least 41 were in the U.S. illegally.
Miami:
Raids also unfolded in Miami on Sunday.
The ICE Miami office said that among those arrested was a Nicaraguan national who was being held at the Broward County Jail with pending charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful carry of concealed weapon, discharging a firearm in public and driving with a suspended license.
A Jamaican national was also arrested on charges of possession of oxycodone, displaying a firearm during a felony offense and operating a vehicle without a valid license.
The Homeland Security Investigation office in Miami shared on X photos of agents detaining people. The office said the arrests were the result of “excellent collaboration” to enforce “U.S. immigration laws and ensuring the safety of our communities.”
Atlanta:
The DEA’s Atlanta office said Sunday it participated in an operation supporting the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement partners with “their immigration enforcement efforts” in Atlanta.
Wilson Rogelio Velásquez Cruz, a Honduran immigrant, was arrested at Iglesia Fuente de Vida, a church in Tucker, his family told NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta.
His family said agents went to his home first, then his church.
His wife told the station that he arrived in the U.S. in 2022 with his wife and three children under a work permit while awaiting a pending asylum case, and that permit was valid for four more years. He had been issued an immigration GPS monitor and his arrest marked the first time he was detained since crossing the border.
Various cities in Texas:
ICE conducted “targeted operations” in North Texas on Sunday, including in Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Fort Worth and Collin County that resulted in at least 84 people apprehended, an ICE official told NBC News.
Many of them were targeted due to “varying degrees of criminality” in their background, the official said. Some of the apprehensions were “collateral” arrests — meaning people who happened to be where a targeted individual was located. It’s unclear how many of the 84 were collateral arrests.
Seattle:
The DEA office in Seattle wrote on X Monday that it was working with Department of Justice Partners and other federal agencies in immigration enforcement efforts and shared photos of two arrests: One being an alleged MS-13 gang member detained in Federal Way, Washington, and another being an alleged illegal alien “encountered during a drug investigation” in Wilsonville, Oregon.
San Juan, Puerto Rico:
San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero acknowledged the implementation of Trump’s immigration executive order on Sunday, saying: “I would like to express my solidarity with all the families affected by these measures. Likewise, I would like to clarify that, up to this moment, I have not been officially notified by any federal authority about the details of the processes that are being carried out in our city.”
He said that neither municipal police nor government entities under San Juan’s jurisdiction are collaborating or supporting the operations.
The mayor said San Juan will offer support and provide “orientation, citizenship classes and assistance to those who need it to ensure that their rights are respected and that due process of law is complied with. I have directed the Office of Immigrant Assistance to make available the necessary resources to maximize our efforts,” Romero also said.
“Under my administration, San Juan will continue to be a place where diversity and inclusion are deeply valued,” he added.
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