Two days after President Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders cracking down on immigration, arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents appear to remain “routine business,” with no large-scale arrests in one place. It does not appear to be part of a raid, sources reported. A person familiar with the operation told NBC News.
Tom Homan, President Trump’s nominee as border czar, told Fox News on Wednesday that ICE has arrested 308 people across the United States.
For comparison, in September 2024, the most recent month for which data is available, ICE arrested 282 immigrants per day.
The official said the arrests targeted criminals, but could not say whether immigrants who had not been convicted were arrested as “collateral arrests.”
The move comes days after authorities in major immigrant-friendly cities, including Chicago, Denver and Minneapolis, anticipated large-scale ICE raids on immigrant communities.
The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it is ending a policy that limits the ability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to arrest illegal aliens at or near so-called sensitive locations, such as houses of worship, schools and hospitals.
NBC News reported last month that the Trump administration would roll back restrictions put in place since the Obama administration. It was continued during the first Trump administration, and expanded under the Biden administration to include areas such as domestic violence and disaster relief shelters. This restriction, in the interest of public safety, prevented entry from these areas without the approval of supervisory authorities.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to evade arrest. The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our nation’s brave law enforcement, but rather trust them to use common sense. “DHS said in a statement announcing Tuesday’s decision.
It remains to be seen how that will play out in major sanctuary cities like Chicago.
“This is a lot of rhetoric aimed at scaring and scaring people, especially immigrants,” said Pastor Beth Brown of Chicago’s Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church. “You still cannot enter a church building or a building of a faith community without a signed judicial warrant, because it’s not just a church, it’s any place of worship.”
DHS also formally reinstated the Migrant Protection Protocols, or more commonly known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. It requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico until they can schedule an appearance before a U.S. immigration judge.
Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said the U.S. decision to reinstate Mexico was made “unilaterally” and was not part of the agreement with Mexico.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters on Tuesday that Mexico has “its own immigration policy” and would discuss the issue with U.S. authorities in the future.
Will there be ICE raids?
President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan told Fox News on Tuesday that there would be “targeted enforcement actions” similar to what ICE already takes every day across the country. NBC News asked Homan how these operations differ.
“More personnel are being assigned to this mission,” he said. He did not say how many people had been assigned.
The Justice Department on Tuesday released a memo with a series of instructions directing Justice Department officials to overhaul their approach to immigration enforcement and prioritize identifying undocumented immigrants and prosecuting immigration violations.
The memo orders the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals, and Bureau of Prisons to “examine files to identify information and biometric data regarding noncitizens who are in the United States illegally.”
There is also a law that directs authorities to investigate, for possible prosecution, state or local officials who resist enforcement of federal immigration laws, and that prohibits the civil division from cooperating with immigration enforcement officials. It directs the state or city to consider possible legal action.
There is no precedent for prosecuting state or local officials deemed to have resisted federal immigration enforcement.
where are they?
The Trump administration has not said where the first raids will take place, but officials familiar with discussions about possible targets say they will arrest migrants in large cities first. Locations under consideration include the Washington, DC area, Denver, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and more.
What’s next for President Trump’s promised mass deportations?
Acting Defense Secretary Robert Saleses said in a statement Wednesday that the Trump administration will send 1,500 additional troops to the southern border, including helicopter crews and intelligence analysts.
“This represents a 60% increase in active ground troops since President Trump took office on Monday,” he said.
Saleses added that the department will conduct military airlifts to deport more than 5,000 people detained by Customs and Border Protection in San Diego, California, and El Paso, Texas.
It is unclear which branch of the government will send troops or what their purpose will be, according to defense officials and senior White officials.
President Trump will likely need to secure even more funding from Congress to fulfill his mass deportation promise. In his inaugural address, he promised to deport “millions” of immigrants back to their home countries. But ICE is already $230 million short of funding its current level of deportation, which saw it deport more than 230,000 immigrants last year.
In his first day of executive action, President Trump declared a national emergency and ordered the military to use Pentagon deportation funds to expand detention space and help transport migrants.
