The US authorities have detained 538 illegal migrants and deported hundreds in a mass operation, according to President Trump’s press secretary.
In a post on X, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s press secretary, wrote, 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.”
She further added that hundreds of “illegal immigrant criminals” had been repatriated through military aircraft.
“The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept,” she wrote in another post.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) also validated the detentions and said that 373 detainers had been sent to jail.
This follows President Trump’s executive orders on his first day of office with an objective to strengthen border security and facilitate the deportation of illegal immigrants in the nation.
Raids were also executed in Newark, New Jersey, which is established as a ‘sanctuary city,’ where not only unlawful immigrants but legal residents were also arrested.
The city’s mayor, Ras Baraka, criticised the action and said, “Newark will not stand by doing nothing while people are being unlawfully terrorised.”
President Trump offered a stoppage to a policy that prohibits ICE agents from arresting illegal people in houses of worship, schools, and hospitals, among many other orders stamped on his first day in office.
Trump said that his cabinet “shall take proper action to repel, repatriate, or remove any alien engaged in the invasion,” referring to migrants crossing borders unlawfully.
Casting unlawful immigration as a national security disaster, Trump has also approved military service members to act as immigration and border enforcement officers as part of his mass deportation program.
He has also approved the suspension of the US Refugee Admission Program from January 27, 2025.
