President Trump ordered the government’s deportation force to focus on scouring cities for illegal immigrants to deport but pay less attention to America’s “heartland,” where he said there’s just not the same need to boot people.
In a social media post Sunday night Mr. Trump said he remains committed to the “single largest mass deportation program in history,” but laid out new parameters for how he wants it to go down.
“In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” he said. “And that is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role. You don’t hear about Sanctuary Cities in our Heartland!”
The statement comes after days of speculation that Mr. Trump had a change of heart on deportations.
In a social media post last week he said he’d been hearing from farmers and “people in the hotel and leisure business” who said aggressive deportations were sapping them of their workforce and they were “almost impossible to replace.”
He also hinted, during a White House event, that there would be an upcoming order to “do something about that” for the farmers.
It’s not clear whether Sunday’s Truth Social posting was that order or whether something more formal is in the offing.
The New York Times reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the government’s deportation force, issued a directive suspending worksite enforcement operations.
The tension between mass deportations and focusing on “criminal” illegal immigrants has been present for Mr. Trump dating back to the 2024 campaign, when he and his aides struggled to define what would happen if he won.
To achieve the kind of mass deportations Mr. Trump has talked about he would have to go after some level of rank-and-file illegal immigrants.
At the same time, the government says its focus remains on those with criminal records.
The latest ICE data shows that of people ICE arrested and had in custody as of the start of this month, about 75% had either criminal convictions or pending charges. That’s the vast majority, but it’s still a slide from the Biden administration, when that figure topped 90%.
Mr. Trump’s new directive comes as ICE officers are facing an intense backlash, with assaults spiking more than 400%.
And it’s not just migrants resisting arrest.
Federal prosecutors have brought charges in several stunning cases where they said residents took matters into their own hands to try to thwart ICE arrests, including using their own vehicles to try to box in the deportation officers.
Mr. Trump gave a vote of confidence to ICE officers Sunday.
“I want our Brave ICE Officers to know that REAL Americans are cheering you on every day,” he said.
“The American People want our Cities, Schools, and Communities to be SAFE and FREE from Illegal Alien Crime, Conflict, and Chaos. That’s why I have directed my entire Administration to put every resource possible behind this effort, and reverse the tide of Mass Destruction Migration that has turned once Idyllic Towns into scenes of Third World Dystopia,” he said.
