U.S. President Donald Trump's top homeland security official joined officers in an immigration enforcement operation that arrested several people in New York City on Tuesday, in the Trump administration's latest effort to promote its nationwide crackdown, Reuters reports. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was confirmed as secretary over the weekend, posted a video and photos of the NYC operation on X early Tuesday morning, highlighting the arrest of an alleged suspect and saying the Trump administration was "making our streets safe." Trump, a Republican, issued an array of executive orders to crack down on illegal immigration after taking office on Monday, including actions aimed at deporting record numbers of migrants in the U.S. without legal status. Trump says the actions are needed after millions of migrants entered during Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency, while critics say Trump could hurt businesses and separate families. In a little more than a week in office, Trump rolled back Biden-era guidance that limited arrests of non-criminals, ordered other federal law enforcement to assist with immigration work, and scrapped a Biden policy that restricted enforcement at schools, churches, hospitals and other sensitive locations.
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said in his Jan. 20 inaugural address, calling illegal immigration an “invasion” and declaring a national emergency. The Trump administration stepped up immigration arrests in recent days with about 1,000-1,200 arrests per day, according to ICE, far above the daily average of 311 in fiscal year 2024. The nationwide operations included arrests in Chicago on Sunday where a TV personality known as "Dr. Phil" documented with a film crew. The increase came after the agency sent an email to staff that said the Trump administration was "demanding" 1,200 arrests on Sunday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The arrest goals had been discussed on internal ICE calls, a second person familiar with the matter said. White House spokesperson Steven Cheung criticized a Washington Post report on Sunday about arrest quotas for ICE officers as "fake news." "Any reports of 'quotas' being used in President Trump’s ongoing mass deportations effort are simply false," a White House official said. "Field offices are now being encouraged to do their job and fulfill President Trump’s promise to deport violent criminal illegal aliens who don’t belong in our country, a stark change from the previous administration."
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