Trump praises ICE, orders expanded operations in major cities

President Donald Trump commended operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a Sunday night statement and called for expanded efforts to detain illegal migrants in urban hubs like Los Angeles and New York. Sanctuary cities are powerhouses for the Democratic party, where illegal migrants are used to cheat elections, he said. ICE, Border Patrol, and other law enforcement officers need to focus on the crime-riddled inner cities and expand efforts to detain and deport illegal migrants in urban hubs, he added. True Americans are cheering as ICE makes communities and cities safer, the president added.

The expansion order came days after Trump hinted at exempting agricultural and hotel workers from ICE raids, according to a Thursday statement. The administration’s aggressive immigration policy is taking irreplaceable workers away from farms and hotels, according to the president. Criminals must be deported, but farmers must also be protected, Trump said. Changes are coming, he added.

Any idea how the raids will be expanded? DHS planned to follow Trump’s directive and continue working to remove criminal migrants from America’s streets, according to a Monday statement from the department. Homeland Security needs more resources and manpower, specifically more officers and transportation, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in a separate Monday statement. She went on to insist that the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act would provide this.

Trump officials continue receiving public backlash for immigration raids, which triggered days of rioting in Los Angeles last week. The Department of Homeland Security pointed out several of what the agency characterized as false narratives floating around media outlets on Monday. Within the Trump administration's first 100 days, 75% of ICE arrests were criminal migrants illegally in the country with convictions or pending charges, DHS insisted. The administration’s directive to expand ICE operations came after the nationwide No Kings protests over the weekend.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on a bystander shot and killed at a No Kings protest.