Trump orders ICE to increase deportations in Democratic cities

President Donald Trump has ordered federal immigration officials to focus deportation efforts on Democratic-controlled cities, intensifying his mass deportation push as nationwide protests challenge his immigration crackdown.

Trump’s directive builds pressure on his administration to reach ambitious daily arrest targets while managing industry concerns. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously demanded ICE officers make at least 3,000 daily arrests, up from about 650 daily arrests recorded during Trump’s first five months back in office. Yet officials reportedly encounter difficulties meeting those quotas, leading to the involvement of multiple federal agencies in pursuit of the target.

In a Truth Social post Sunday, Trump wrote, “ICE Officers are herewith ordered, by notice of this TRUTH, to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.” He specifically called for expanded 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.” At the G7 summit Monday, he said he wants officials to focus on “sanctuary cities” because “that’s where the people are.” He also accused Democrats of using illegal immigration to influence elections and alleged that undocumented immigrants were being used to “grow the Welfare State.”

Responding to Trump’s order, Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “We will follow the President’s direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America’s streets.” An enforcement campaign spanning several months and covering about two dozen cities with Democratic leadership is now reportedly active.

Democratic-controlled cities generally have larger Asian American populations. New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have some of the highest Asian American numbers, with around 1.2 million, 465,000 and 289,000, respectively. AANHPIs in Fremont, Daly City (California) and Honolulu accounted for more than half of those cities’ total populations.

The order escalates tensions with Democratic leaders who have filed lawsuits over Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops and Marines to address anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. Days before the demonstrations, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu — who defended her city’s immigrant policies in Congress earlier this year — received federal backlash for comparing masked ICE agents to neo-Nazis.

Deportation activities are most concentrated in five southern states containing cities that lean Democratic, according to Axios’ analysis, while heavily Republican rural areas see reduced enforcement. Following Trump’s concerns in the past week that “our farmers are being hurt badly,” officials have reportedly paused arrests at farms, restaurants and hotels.

 

This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.