White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has reportedly demanded ICE agents raid Home Depots and 7-Elevens as part of his lofty new target for arrests of illegal migrants.
Miller, one of Trump’s biggest hawks on immigration, said last week that Trump wants the agency to conduct 3,000 arrests every single day in an ambitious effort to ramp up his deportation agenda.
He and ‘border czar’ Tom Homan have both suggested that the numbers are not currently where they want them.
Now, reports have come out that lay out just how unhappy Miller has been with the relatively low numbers of arrests.
ICE confirmed that Miller held a meeting with dozens of top directors and officials on May 20, where he reportedly ‘came in there and eviscerated everyone.’
According to the Washington Examiner, Miller allegedly told them: ‘You guys aren’t doing a good job. You’re horrible leaders.’
He then reportedly gave them an open challenge and asked: ‘Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?’
Miller further pushed, getting into what an official called a ‘p***ing contest,’ saying: ‘What do you mean you’re going after criminals?’
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has reportedly demanded ICE agents raid Home Depots and 7-Elevens as part of his lofty new target for arrests of illegal migrants
He reportedly gave the agents an open challenge and asked: ‘Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?’
They were later confronted by Homeland Security Secretary and ‘ICE Barbie’ Kristi Noem, who reiterated that the numbers weren’t good enough.
In a statement to the Examiner, ICE deputy assistant director of media affairs Laszlo Baksay said the descriptions were ‘inaccurate.’
‘Stephen Miller did not say many of the things you state,’ Baksay said.
However, the outlet cited field office directors, homeland security investigators and enforcement removal operations who said Miller’s words were intensely negative.
‘He had nothing positive to say about anybody, shot morale down,’ said an official.
Another added that it comes at what is already a difficult time for ICE agents.
‘They’ve been threatened, told they’re watching their emails and texts and Signals. That’s what is horrible about things right now. It’s a fearful environment. Everybody in leadership is afraid. There’s no morale. Everybody is demoralized.’
Miller said the new goal is only temporary and the number of daily arrests expected under the Trump administration will continue to rise.
‘Under President Trump’s leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day,’ Miller told Fox News‘ Sean Hannity.
ICE confirmed that Miller held a meeting with dozens of top directors and officials on May 20, where he reportedly ‘came in there and eviscerated everyone.’ However, a spokesman described the recounting of the meeting as ‘inaccurate’
During Trump’s first 100 days back in office, ICE officials arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan backed the ambitious new benchmark on Thursday morning, insisting: ‘We’ve gotta’ increase these arrests and removals.’
‘The numbers are good, but I’m not satisfied. I haven’t been satisfied all year long.’
During Trump’s first 100 days back in office, ICE officials arrested 66,463 illegal immigrants.
More than 65,000 illegal immigrants were deported.
Some 17,000 deportees had criminal convictions or charges ranging from driving under the influence to assault or weapons offenses.
ICE has boasted removing gang members, murderers and child rapists.
But the administration has faced significant pushback and legal hurdles with challenges to the legality of some of the deportation schemes, particularly those which saw foreign aliens sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison under the wartime Illegal Aliens Act.
Other migrants have been banished to third party nations with little to no legal pathway to challenge their deportations.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan backed the lofty new target last week, insisting: ‘We’ve gotta increase these arrests and removals.’
Even if the lofty new target of 3,000 people a day is reached, it is still a far cry from Trump’s campaign promise to rid America of up to 20million illegal immigrants.
He vowed to carry out ‘the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.’
There have been reports for months that Trump has been unsatisfied with the progress of agents on the ground, who have discovered that tracking down illegal migrants – particularly criminals – is more difficult and a slower process than they initially expected.
Across the United States in immigration courts from New York to Seattle in recent weeks, Homeland Security officials began ramping up enforcement actions and carrying out mass arrests in an effort to boost their numbers.
Three US immigration officials said government attorneys were given the order to start dismissing cases when they showed up for work in late May, knowing full well that federal agents would then have a free hand to arrest those same individuals as soon as they stepped out of the courtroom.
All spoke on condition of anonymity because they feared losing their jobs.
This meant that when migrants arrived in court to plead their immigration cases, prosecutors would instead dismiss the case and a judge would rule the client was free to leave.
Once exiting the courtroom, ICE agents would be outside, waiting to arrest them.
The latest effort includes people who have no criminal records, migrants with no legal representation and people who are seeking asylum, according to reports received by the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
