Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s stepped-up arrests continued Tuesday, with newly sworn-in Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem personally taking part in an operation targeting New York City.
The New York operation Tuesday morning was part of a broader pattern of highly publicized ICE arrests starting last week targeting “sanctuary cities” that have passed local policies limiting cooperation with federal deportation efforts. White House border czar Tom Homan has repeatedly said that Donald Trump’s administration will counter sanctuary policies with more aggressive at-large arrests.
“Here in New York City this morning we are getting the dirtbags off these streets,” Noem said while wearing a vest reading “Police” and “ICE,” in a video posted to X.
Trump thrust the Venezuelan-born prison gang into the national spotlight during the presidential campaign, describing Aurora, Colo. as a town besieged by criminal gangs composed of unauthorized immigrants. (City officials, including Aurora’s Republican mayor, disputed Trump’s portrayal of the Denver suburb.)
The nationwide enforcement operations that launched last week have targeted other major cities, including Chicago, Los Angles, Miami, the Austin-San Antonio area and Atlanta. ICE has partnered with other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to carry out the arrests. |
