Trump’s Mass Deportation Operation Begins with Over 300 Criminal Aliens Rounded Up on Day One David Zimmerman
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested at least 308 illegal immigrants on President Donald Trump’s first full day in office, border czar Tom Homan announced Wednesday.
On Tuesday, immigration authorities began arresting hundreds of illegal immigrants who have committed violent crimes, including murder and rape. Over 1.4 million immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally will be prioritized in the early days of Trump’s second term.
“We’re concentrating on the worst first,” Homan told Fox & Friends host Lawrence Jones Wednesday morning, noting ICE is focusing on arresting “public safety threats” and “national security threats” as Trump promised.
“Some of them were murderers. Some of them were rapists. Some of them raped a child. Some sexually assaulted a child,” the border czar said of the 308 detainees.
National Review contacted DHS and ICE for comment on additional details of the arrested criminal aliens.
“ICE is doing their job” and “performing excellently right now out in the field,” Homan added.
On Monday, Trump declared a national emergency to secure the southern border and halt the historic surge of illegal immigrants that proliferated under former president Joe Biden for four years.
About 11 million immigrants were living in the U.S. illegally as of 2022, according to an April 2024 report from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics. That figure is likely higher now due to record border crossings under Biden.
Immigration raids in metropolitan cities are part of the new administration’s overarching vision for tackling illegal immigration.
Though it was initially reported raids would start in Chicago on Tuesday, the sanctuary city hasn’t seen much federal activity yet. Bracing for the expected raids, Chicago residents are largely staying inside, causing foot traffic in the city’s shopping district to drop by half.
Posing logistical challenges, the mass deportation operation needs detention centers to house illegal immigrants before they can be deported. ICE operates about 200 detention facilities across the U.S., but more may be needed. Large-scale deportations are expected to start as soon as this week.
Moreover, Trump authorized the deployment of up to 1,500 additional active-duty troops to the southern border on Wednesday. There are already roughly 2,200 troops in El Paso, Texas, the site of numerous border crossings in recent years.
Speaking with Fox News, Homan revealed there were 766 total apprehensions at the southern border in the last 24 hours since Trump took office. The border czar called the drastic shift in immigration policy a “game-changer.”
When asked what it takes for an immigrant to receive a visit from ICE, Homan replied, “There’s nothing in immigration law that says you got to be convicted of a serious crime to be removed under the” Immigration and Nationality Act, which Trump invoked in a day-one executive order. “If you’re in a country illegally, ICE can visit you.”
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