US authorities have arrested 38 illegal migrants and deported hundreds in a mass operation after President Donald Trump took office for the second time this week, according to his press secretary.
In a post on social media platform X, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary said, “The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.”
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She added that hundreds of “illegal immigrant criminals” had been deported via military aircraft.
“The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept,” she said in another post.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) also confirmed the arrests and said that 373 detainers (criminal non-citizens) had been lodged in jail.
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The move comes after Donald Trump signed a slew of executive orders on his first day of office that were aimed to tightening border security and facilitating the deportation of undocumented immigrants in the country
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Raids were also conducted in Newark, New Jersey, which is designated as a ‘sanctuary city’, where not only undocumented immigrants but legal residents were also detained.
The city’s mayor Ras Baraka condemned the action and said, “Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized.”
Trump’s anti-immigration orders
President Trump brought an end to a policy that restricts ICE agents from arresting undocumented people in houses of worship, schools and hospitals, among many others orders passed on his first day in office.
Trump said that his cabinet “shall take appropriate action to repel, repatriate or remove any alien engaged in the invasion,” referring to migrants crossing borders illegally.
Framing illegal immigration as a national security crisis, Trump has also allowed for military service members to act as immigration and border enforcement officers as part of his mass deportation program.
He has also ordered the suspension of the US Refugee Admission Program from January 27, 2025.
