Trump immigration raids alarm cities, but ICE arrests fewer than in 2017
The numbers could indicate that the administration’s show of force has so far outpaced the government’s ability to quickly deport more migrants.
The Trump administration circulated photos Friday showing U.S. troops loading shackled detainees onto a military cargo plane, as the White House declared a start to the mass deportation campaign the president promised along the campaign trail.
The White House said immigration agents have arrested 538 undocumented immigrants and deported “hundreds” more. Those numbers are relatively modest for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge operations — a possible indication that the Trump administration’s show of force has so far outpaced the government’s capacity to deliver on the president’s lofty goals.
The number of arrests was lower than the 675 detained in similar raids after Trump took office in 2017 threatening to deport “millions” of people, though he never came close to that number.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt publicized the raids late Thursday night and early Friday.
“Deportation flights have begun. President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” Leavitt wrote on X.
“The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.”
The military used a C-17 transport plane to deport about 80 Guatemalan border-crossers on Thursday and sent a second military flight to Guatemala with a similar number of passengers overnight, according to a Department of Homeland Security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operations.
Tom Cartwright, who tracks ICE deportations for the immigrant advocacy group Witness at the Border, called the military operation “theater of the absurd” in a post on X. “The only thing new about this is subjecting people to transport on a cargo plane,” Cartwright wrote. He noted that ICE carried out 508 deportation flights to Guatemala during the 2024 fiscal year on planes that averaged 125 passengers.
The immigration raids hit immediately after Trump took office in cities and states across the country, targeting areas where Democrats have defended immigrants and urged Congress to grant them a path to U.S. citizenship. Trump has called for their mass removal, and on Inauguration Day he directed the departments of Homeland Security, Justice and Defense to prioritize immigration enforcement.
The raids led to relatively modest numbers for ICE surge operations as the new administration tries to get off the ground. Trump has promised to deport millions and has characterized immigrants as criminals, though studies show that native-born Americans commit a higher share of violent felonies.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which deports undocumented immigrants for DHS, did not say precisely how many were deported as part of the nationwide operations that unfolded this week — or how many were criminals — but officials have said their main targets are serious offenders.
The White House said Thursday that four of those arrested in the sweeps were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Others had committed sex crimes against children, Leavitt said.
Officials did not provide a complete breakdown of the alleged crimes, similar to their approach after the initial raids in 2017. Congressional aides later disclosed that half of those arrested had no criminal convictions or had committed traffic offenses as their most serious crimes, which ICE said were mostly for drunken driving.
Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan, a former acting ICE director, said in an appearance on Fox News that agents were arresting people in sanctuary cities, where local officials refuse to allow agents to arrest immigrants in their jails after police have picked them up for alleged crimes.
Many local officials say they cannot keep someone in jail for a civil immigration violation after a judge has ordered the person released on bail in a criminal case. And some have expressed frustration that ICE targets minor offenders, making the broader community afraid to report crimes to police.
Trump officials have called for rescinding federal funding to those cities and have threatened to prosecute any officials who obstruct immigration officers.
“Sanctuary cities make it less efficient and more dangerous, but it’s not going to stop us,” Homan said. “We’re hitting every sanctuary city right now.”
Newark Mayor Ras A. Baraka said Thursday that ICE raided a local business, detaining undocumented residents and U.S. citizens “without producing a warrant.”
“One of the detainees is a U.S. military veteran who suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned,” the mayor said in a statement. He said federal agents violated the veteran’s rights. “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” Baraka added.
ICE declined to provide detailed answers about the allegations, saying the investigation is ongoing. But spokesman Jeff Carter said in an email that agents “may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual’s identity,” which is what happened in Newark.
ICE has arrested immigrants, particularly criminals, across every administration, and the Biden administration boasted that it was aggressively pursuing serious offenders. Days before President Joe Biden left office, ICE said it had arrested 33 criminal noncitizens in a week-long operation in December, also in Newark.
As of July 21, ICE said it was tracking nearly 650,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal records who had been released into the United States, though only 425,000 had convictions. The others were pending trial.
Many are serving criminal sentences in state prisons or jails, while others are minor offenders who had been spared removal under the Biden administration. Trump has said any of the estimated 11 million immigrants who are in the United States illegally could be deported.
Sarah Cahlan contributed to this report.
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