Donald Trump‘s immigration force announced that it arrested over 500 illegal migrants on Thursday as part of the largest mass deportation in US history.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said on X they have lodged a further 373 deportation detainers – requests to local police forces to hold arrested individuals until ICE can pick them up – since Trump took back power on Monday.
ICE revealed the updated statistics the same day two American hikers were attacked by suspected Mexican cartel members in San Diego County, California, with one of the men struck in the leg by a bullet as the attackers opened fire.
Footage shared by a US border patrol agent to X showed officers airlifting the hiker to safety, pledging in the post to ‘confront these threats HEAD ON!’
‘Cartels think they can bring their war here. Think again!’ border agent Gregory Bovino added.
Officials said the two men were confronted by several suspected cartel members several thousand yards from the border in California’s Jacumba Wilderness, and a source told Fox News that the men tried to run away after being approached.
The source said the gunshot victim is expected to recover, and the agency’s Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) subsequently cleared the area.
The updated ICE statistics come after federal authorities said Tuesday that a sweep of sanctuary cities led to the arrest of over 300 illegal migrants on Trump’s first full day.
Donald Trump’s deportation force announced Thursday that it has arrested over 500 illegal migrants in the early days of his presidency as his immigration crackdown began this week
The updated ICE statistics come after federal authorities said Tuesday that a sweep of sanctuary cities led to the arrest of over 300 illegal migrants on Trump’s first full day in office. Pictured is an ICE raid in Denver, Colorado this week
ICE revealed the updated statistics the same day two American hikers were attacked by suspected Mexican cartel members in San Diego County, California, with one of the men struck in the leg as the attackers opened fire
Thursday morning also marked the start of Trump’s move to deploy the US military to the southern border, with 1,500 active-duty troops arriving early in the day.
The Pentagon confirmed the 1,000 Army soldiers and 500 Marines deployed south include those from Military Police units as well as combat engineers and intelligence specialists to aid in detection and monitoring of illegal border jumpers.
The additional active forces, which adds to the roughly 2,500 already currently stationed along the border, will also aid in constructing barriers along the border and providing the air power for deportations.
Over 5,400 migrants who are currently in detention in the US will be flown out of the country by the military forces, as a show of force for Trump’s early days back in the White House.
As part of the effort, four C-17 and C-130 military aircraft were moved to El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California this week, an official told Task & Purpose.
Trump is planning to send a total of 10,000 active-duty military to the border.
President Trump’s hardline Border Czar Tom Homan warned that local governments that seek to shield illegal migrants from deportation forces could now face criminal prosecution
It comes as an additional 1,500 active-duty troops arrived Thursday at the southern border
Four C-17 and C-130 military aircraft were moved to El Paso, Texas , and San Diego, California this week for the purposes of deportation flights
Arrests and deportations already began on Tuesday, with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan confirming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 308 illegal migrants in the first full day of the new administration.
Homan warned that local governments that seek to shield illegal migrants from deportation forces could now face criminal prosecution.
He cited a directive from President Trump to investigate state and city officials who resist his immigration enforcement efforts, and said the early moves show that now Joe Biden is out of office, ‘Ice is doing their job.’
Homan also vowed to restart immigration raids, including in the so-called sanctuary cities. Examples of these cities include San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, New York City and many others that are run by Democrat leaders who don’t want to comply with crackdowns on federal immigration law.
Making good on his 2024 campaign pledge to carry out the largest deportation operation in US history, Trump issued 10 executive orders on day one of his second term on Monday related to the southern border and the illegal immigration crisis.
At the border, migrants found the CBP One App failed to work, and officials said the total apprehensions at the southern border dropped to 766 on Tuesday.
This compared to the thousands per day that were crossing under Biden’s leadership is a drastic change from one day to the next.
Migrants found themselves deported or sent straight back to Mexico as they sought to gain entry into the U.S. at the border between Tijuana and California on Tuesday.
ICE, seen detaining a suspected illegal migrant in Boston, said they have lodged a further 373 deportation detainers – requests to local police forces to hold arrested individuals until ICE can pick them up – since Trump took back power on Monday
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove (pictured representing Trump in his New York criminal trial earlier this year) released a memo warning of potential criminal prosecutions for those attempting to block ICE’s deportations
The Justice Department now warns that any officials who resist or obstruct the federal immigration enforcement could now be charged with defrauding the U.S. or even harboring illegal aliens.
If their investigations find local officials to be in violation of this directive but the prosecution opts not to bring criminal charges, they must notify the Justice Department of such a decision.
In a memo from the Justice Department this week, written by Trump appointee and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, it was stated: ‘Federal law prohibits state and local actors from resisting, obstructing or otherwise failing to comply with lawful immigration-related commands and requests.’
Bove’s memo notes this is an additional way in which to enforce the flurry of executive orders Trump signed on illegal immigration already.
He also cited threats posed by international gangs and drug cartels, writing: ‘It is the responsibility of the Justice Department to defend the Constitution and, accordingly, to lawfully executive the policies that the American people elected President Trump to implement.’
