President Donald Trump is intensifying his hardline stance on immigration, vowing to escalate ICE raids in Blue cities as part of what he calls the “single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”
In a post on TruthSocial on Sunday evening, Trump praised ICE agents for their “incredible strength, determination” insisting that the agency should concentrate its efforts on cities he deems the “Democrat Power Center”. He reiterated unfounded allegations that Democratic leaders in these cities utilise undocumented immigrants to boost voting numbers.
“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. These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens,” Trump penned.
This announcement follows weeks of heightened enforcement and comes after Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff and principal architect of Trump’s immigration policies, stated that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers would aim for at least 3,000 arrests per day, a significant increase from the approximately 650 daily arrests during the initial five months of Trump’s second term.
Amidst a whirlwind of activity, the Trump administration has made the decision to instruct immigration officers to temporarily suspend detentions in sectors critical to the economy such as farming, hospitality, and dining establishments. This comes after President Trump voiced concerns about the negative repercussions that intensified immigration enforcement could have on these key industries, a U.S. official, insisting on anonymity, disclosed, reports the Mirror US
In a move that has only heightened tensions in Los Angeles, President Trump’s actions have spurred ongoing demonstrations against ICE, leading to the deployment of the National Guard despite having no formal request from California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Governor Newsom has recently taken a strong stance as the frontrunner opposing Trump’s policies within the Democratic Party. He even addressed the nation on Tuesday, post several days of disorder in Los Angeles, climaxing with the “No Kings Day” rallies last Saturday.
The state of California has initiated legal proceedings against President Trump’s call for 4,000 National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles streets. While an appellate court has put a hold on a subordinate court’s ruling that would have transferred command of the National Guard back to Newsom, it has planned additional deliberations on this contentious issue for the coming Tuesday.