Democrats, advocates question ICE enforcement raids …
The actions are the first concerted effort by ICE under the Trump administration to arrest targeted undocumented immigrants for deportation proceedings.
It's unclear at this point in the nascent administration whether it was a sign of things to come, or whether the actions were conducted under any different procedures than could have been in place under the Obama administration.
Trump claimed credit for the raids Sunday, tweeting: "The crackdown on illegal criminals is merely the keeping of my campaign promise. Gang members, drug dealers & others are being removed!"
It was the uncertainty, the publicity of the raids and the high tensions raised by public comments on immigration by Trump administration officials that had Democrats asking for more information.
California Rep. Lou Correa fsent a letter to immigration officials, outlining the unanswered questions related to the latest immigration enforcement actions.
"These activities have caused fear and uncertainty for many of constituents," Correa wrote, and listed 10 questions for ICE, among them "What are the agency's priorities for removal? and "How far in advance were these enforcement activities planned?"
David Marin, Los Angeles field office director for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said planning for the immigration operation carried out this week began during the Obama administration.
"This operation was in the planning stages before the current administration issued its executive order," Marin told reporters Friday. Trump signed an executive order regarding detention of undocumented immigrants on January 25. Marin said generally it takes weeks of planning before an operation is carried out because the agency needs the time to develop case targets and leads.
Officials are trying to stress that these actions are consistent with regular enforcement.
"We do these operations two to three times a year," Marin said. "This is on par with past operations."
Immigration activists are concerned, however, that these raids may have targeted a wider scope of individuals than had been common in the Obama administration.
Separately, a former Obama administration ICE official said that administration "targeted felons," and noted that under the Trump administration, the enforcement priorities laid out in his interior executive order were much broader and could include a wider range of targets than the Obama administration's enforcement priorities.
The official also questioned the Trump administration including in its general targets individuals with previous deportation orders. These are undocumented immigrants who went through court proceedings before and had a final order of removal, but had not been deported by the previous administration. The Los Angeles ICE office confirmed among its arrests five had no criminal histories but prior orders of removal.
"We ultimately decided those people were not a priority as there are literally millions of them and most have never committed any crime," the official said referring to violent crimes or felonies.
The official said that one appeal of targeting individuals with removal orders is that they can be deported "quickly," because no further court action would be necessary.
ICE in Los Angeles said it had conducted a five-day operation targeting criminals and fugitives, and said that the vast majority of those arrested had criminal histories.
Seeking to push back on reports of indiscriminate raids, ICE released the results of the operation from its Los Angeles office, saying about 160 foreign nationals were arrested during the week. Of those, 150 had criminal histories, and of the remaining arrests, five had final orders of removal or were previously deported. Ninety-five percent were male, they said.
A Homeland Security official told CNN on Saturday that 37 of those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California this week as part of the enforcement crackdown have now been deported to Mexico. The official said they had already been deported and had come back to the country illegally or had deportation orders against them. This group did not have to go through the adjudication process because they had already received deportation orders, the official said.
While specific numbers weren't available, ICE said "many" of the arrested individuals had prior felony convictions including violent charges like child sex crimes, weapons or assault charges.
An ICE official confirmed Atlanta had conducted a similar surge this week, and roughly 200 arrests were made in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina in a similar routine enforcement action. Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro said in a statement that he had confirmed with ICE's San Antonio field office that similar actions were conducted across Texas, calling the action "Operation Cross Check." He said he would be following up to make sure the actions were targeting the worst offenders.
The Chicago ICE office said similar actions in the Midwest netted more than 200 arrests in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri. While Chicago said the targets were fugitives and criminals, the only data available about the individuals arrested was that the "majority" had prior criminal convictions.
Some arrested during the Midwest sweep "will face criminal prosecutions by the US attorney's office for illegal entry and illegal re-entry after deportation," the office said.
Still, as Trump continues to talk about cracking down on illegal immigration, advocates remain concerned that the new administration could be stepping up enforcement against otherwise peaceful undocumented immigrants.
On Thursday, protests sprang up at the deportation of Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos, a 35-year-old mother of two, who had checked in with ICE at an office in Phoenix the day before, as she had regularly since a 2008 conviction of using a fake Social Security number.
Friday, Democrats decried the actions nationwide as needlessly causing fear for immigrant communities.
"These reports show the serious consequences of the president's executive order, which allows all undocumented immigrants to be categorized as criminals and requires increased enforcement in communities, rather than prioritizing dangerous criminals," California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement responding to media reports of the stepped up enforcement, including some accounts that the actions were targeting low-priority undocumented immigrants, including family men and women.
"The President wants to show off and it appears he has unleashed the Department of Homeland Security to kick-out large numbers of immigrants and anyone they encounter, without much oversight, review or due process," said Illinois Democratic Rep. Luis Gutierrez. "The goal of such policies is to inject fear into immigrant communities, frighten families and children, and drive immigrants farther underground. It damages public safety and the fabric of American communities while putting a burden on local social services and the foster-care system."
Gutierrez's concerns were echoed by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, a Democrat from California.
"I am outraged to hear of the recent ICE arrests in southern California. If the Trump administration is genuinely concerned about threats to American security, it should prioritize violent felons and others who pose real danger," Roybal-Allard said in a statement. "My office has been working to get detailed information from ICE."
And a city councilman from Austin, Texas, said he was concerned that ICE was making a public show of force in his city as retribution for being a sanctuary city.
"ICE actions like these are beyond reprehensible," Greg Casar said in a statement. "They instill fear in the community, and they make everyday people fear for their lives."
Trump made cracking down on illegal immigration a central focus of his presidential campaign.
While ICE characterized the actions as routine, fear remains that the Trump administration's recent executive order beefing up interior enforcement of immigration laws could mean a vast expansion of deportations of undocumented immigrants.
While the Obama administration had clear guidance prioritizing deportation of high-level criminals, an executive order signed by Trump in his first week set up enforcement priorities that could include virtually any undocumented immigrant living in the US.
On Saturday, the President defend another part of his campaign promise on immigration, vowing to keep costs down on a border wall that would span the US southern border with Mexico.
"I am reading that the great border WALL will cost more than the government originally thought, but I have not gotten involved in the ... design or negotiations yet. When I do, just like with the F-35 FighterJet or the Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN!" Trump wrote in two consecutive tweets.
A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman said overall about the agency's actions that everything is "routine," and are not part of casting a widespread net.
"ICE Fugitive Operations teams are out every day as part of routine, targeted enforcement operations," said acting press secretary Gillian Christensen. "These are existing, established fugitive operations teams. ICE does not conduct sweeps or raids that target aliens indiscriminately. ICE only conducts targeted enforcement of criminal aliens and other individuals who are in violation of our nation's immigration laws."
DHS secretary John Kelly told reporters at San Ysidro Port of Entry between San Diego and Tijuana on Friday that his department isn't "rounding anyone up."
"The people that ICE apprehend are people who are illegal and then some," he said. "ICE is executing the law and I would tell you I've been around a lot of pretty darn good men and women in the armed forces and what I saw today, the professionalism that I personally observed in a very potentially dangerous environment gave me great pride."
CNN's Kevin Bohn, Paul Vercammen, Rene Marsh, Ed Lavandera, Rosa Flores, Azadeh Ansari and Joe Sutton contributed to this report.
Here is the original post:
Democrats, advocates question ICE enforcement raids ...
- Democrats Should Use Shutdown Threat as 'Leverage' to Oppose Cuts, Says Rep. Subramanyam - Bloomberg.com - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- In Epstein, Democrats Find Weapon Against Trump and Republicans - The New York Times - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Wisconsin Democrats launch push to take the majority in the Senate after years in the shadows - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Two Democrats Are Bolting From a Bipartisan Governors Group - The Atlantic - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Democrats Are Running Circles Around Republicans on Epstein - Politico - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Democrats Have Few Tools to Counter G.O.P. Redistricting - The New York Times - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- We learned some lessons: How Chuck Schumer and Democrats are gearing up for the next funding fight with Trump - CNN - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Some Democrats may finally be ready to play dirty over redistricting - vox.com - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Democrats Havent Failed to Fight Trump. Theyve Failed to Win. - New York Magazine - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- VIDEO: Blackburn Slams Democrats for Obstructing President Trumps Agenda and Will of the American People - Senator Marsha Blackburn (.gov) - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- NCUA Meeting Seats In Limbo: Will Reinstated Democrats Show Up Or Sit Out? - CU Today - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Senate Democrats agree to advance military construction, VA spending bill - The Hill - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America - KALW - July 24th, 2025 [July 24th, 2025]
- Opinion | Are the Democrats Dead or Alive? - The New York Times - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Opinion | James Carville: My Fix for the Confused and Leaderless Democrats - The New York Times - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- One year after Biden's unprecedented exit from 2024 race, Democrats poll numbers at rock bottom - Fox News - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- US protesters call for Democrats to face Trump and fight, fight, fight with every tool available - The Guardian - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- 'Flood' of ICE agents is coming to cities run by Democrats, according to the White House - USA Today - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Pennington County Democrats host town hall discussing veterans issues - kotatv.com - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- These Democrats could be targeted in the GOP's Texas redistricting push - Houston Chronicle - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Republicans and Democrats Call for More Information on Epstein Case - The New York Times - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Opinion | There Is Hope for Democrats. Look to Kansas. - The New York Times - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- 'Flood' of ICE agents is coming to cities run by Democrats, White House warns - USA Today - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Day 1 of Texas special session starts with Democrats signaling they could flee over redistricting - ABC13 Houston - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Trump blames Epstein files on Democrats and Comey but the timeline tells a different story - Poynter - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Democrats oppose move to house immigrant detainees at Fort Dix - New Jersey Monitor - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- The 2026 Senate map is tough for Democrats, but Republicans have their own headaches - AP News - July 22nd, 2025 [July 22nd, 2025]
- Democrats in South Carolina are barely pretending they're not already running for president - Politico - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Democrats 2024 Autopsy Is Described as Avoiding the Likeliest Cause of Death - The New York Times - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Scoop: Why Democrats didn't make Trump miss his deadline to cut $9 billion from PBS, NPR - Axios - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- How can Democrats win back working-class voters? Change their tune | Joan C Williams - The Guardian - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- 'Dear God': Democrats storm out of vote on controversial Trump nominee - Fox News - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- POLITICS: Door Open For Democrats To Win In City Of Celina Elections - Mercer County Outlook - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Weeks After a Heat Wave Baked the US, Democrats Push to Declare Heat a Major Disaster - Inside Climate News - July 20th, 2025 [July 20th, 2025]
- Opinion | Can Anything Save the Democrats? - The Wall Street Journal - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- President Says Epstein Critics Are Being Used by Democrats - The New York Times - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Mamdani charms national Democrats. But N.Y. Dems are just meh. - The Washington Post - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Trumps New Strategy on Epstein Fallout: Blame the Democrats - The New York Times - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Talking Trump accounts and mocking Democrats, Vance offers preview of how GOP will message the 'big, beautiful bill' - Politico - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Thank Fairfax County Democrats for your higher tax bill this year - Fairfax Times - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- E&E News: Youth fighting Trump on climate get boost from Democrats - POLITICO Pro - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Democrats walk out of Emil Bove judicial confirmation hearing - CBS News - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- John Fetterman's Approval Rating With Democrats Hits Record Low - Newsweek - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Opinion | Democrats risk taking the wrong lessons from Trumpism - The Washington Post - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Democrats Storm Out of Vote on Trumps Judicial Nominee, Emil Bove - The Daily Beast - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Democrats and Republicans in Congress are working together to pass sanctions on Russia - 90.5 WESA - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Opinion | Democrats finally found an anti-Trump argument that works - The Washington Post - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Cook County Democrats mostly sticking with incumbents on primary slate but Assessor Fritz Kaegi is in limbo - Chicago Sun-Times - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Democrats bill would require OSHA to issue worker heat protections - E&E News by POLITICO - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Trump tries to shift blame to Democrats for Epstein controversy - WGBH - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- WATCH: Democrats protest Bove nomination hearing with walkout before vote - NBC New York - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Hungary opposition figures urge Democrats to organize against autocratic takeover by Trump - The Guardian - July 18th, 2025 [July 18th, 2025]
- Hunter Biden says Democrats lost election for not staying loyal to his father - The Washington Post - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- 'The powerful protecting the powerful': Democrats see an opening on Epstein - Politico - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats demand Pam Bondi and Kash Patel be summoned for Epstein hearing - The Guardian - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- As Trump looks to net five GOP seats through Texas redistricting, Democrats grasp for response - The Texas Tribune - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats are trolling Trump and the GOP over the Jeffrey Epstein case - AP News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats Broach Potential Walkout to Block Texas Redistricting - The New York Times - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats Are Workshopping New Tactics After Losses of 2024 - The New York Times - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Mamdani Goes to Washington With Key Democrats in Congress Still on the Fence - THE CITY - NYC News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Hunter Biden says Democrats lost election because they werent loyal to his father - The Hill - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats bash Trump over Texas redistricting: Act of desperation to cling to power - The Hill - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats raked in money in the Michigan and Illinois Senate races - Politico - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- House Democrats are trying to force the Trump administration to release the Epstein files - Axios - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- I don't want to talk to MAGA voters, but Epstein gives Democrats an in on Trump | Opinion - USA Today - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Danbury Democrats formally back Alves for second term as mayor: 'We can't afford to sit back now' - NewsTimes - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats Accuse Trump of Ceding Global Influence to China - The New York Times - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Opinion | Moderate Democrats cant save their party if they dont fight for it - The Washington Post - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats accuse Waltz of lying over Signalgate and berate him for not expressing regret - Politico - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Assaults on ICE officers surge 830% as Democrats caught 'doxing and physically assaulting' agents: DHS - Fox News - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats find reasons for hope and fear six months into Trump 2.0 - The Hill - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Gavin Newsom as the Democrats' nominee in 2028? What's not to like? - Daily Herald - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats must not abandon trans girls in sports - Bleeding Heartland - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Democrats pounce on Trump's blowup over Epstein - Axios - July 16th, 2025 [July 16th, 2025]
- Trump's White House accused Democrats of inciting violence against ICE but they have no receipts - MSNBC News - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Megabill may not be a silver bullet for Democrats in the midterms - Politico - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Young Democrats have called for a rebrand. Theyre vying to replace the partys old guard - AP News - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Takeaways from AP report on Democrats already lining up for the 2028 presidential race - CTPost - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Democrats urge town hall attendees to persevere, hope in face of Big Beautiful Bill - Maryland Matters - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]
- Video: How the Democrats Lost on Transgender Issues - The New York Times - July 14th, 2025 [July 14th, 2025]