Immigration enforcement activities have begun to spread throughout major U.S. cities since President Donald Trump returned to office.
On Sunday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) made 956 arrests, the most in a single day during the Trump administration. This brings the overall number of ICE arrests since the inauguration to at least 2,681 arrests.
There has been worry that law-abiding migrants and those with permits may also be apprehended, despite the Trump administration’s claims that the operation is aimed at criminals. Numbers separating migrants in custody with criminal history from those without have not been made public by officials.
Arrests have occurred in the following major cities:
Chicago
Crackdowns on migrant arrests occurred in Chicago on Sunday.
Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told NBC News that several of the individuals detained in Chicago were gang members, two had prior convictions for murder and aggravated sexual battery, and six had major convictions.
On Monday, more arrests were made. A source with knowledge of the activities stated on Monday that ten distinct teams, each consisting of roughly ten federal agents, are dispersed throughout the city. According to the source, teams comprise officers from other federal agencies in addition to ICE.
Chicago is a sanctuary city that offers protection to immigrants who are applying for naturalization. Cooperation between immigration authorities and city police is forbidden under those rules, according to NBC Chicago. In a statement posted on X, Mayor Brandon Johnson affirmed that Chicago police had nothing to do with the ICE operation.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker told CNN on Sunday that while he is in favor of deporting those convicted of violent crimes, he opposes targeting law-abiding citizens, stating that these individuals are not generating issues for our nation and that we should provide them with a road to citizenship.
In anticipation of the crackdown, city officials and immigrant rights organizations have launched campaigns to warn immigrants of their rights in the event of an arrest.
Los Angeles
The DEA and Homeland Security Investigations’ Los Angeles offices announced that they were collaborating with partners to carry out law enforcement activities in line with the immigration policies of the Trump administration.
Photos of law enforcement officers in green uniforms putting people into custody were shared by the offices.
Late last year, the city council formally passed a sanctuary city rule that forbids the use of local assets or employees to support federal immigration enforcement, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Phoenix
The DEA’s Phoenix office shared images of personnel wearing law enforcement vests on Sunday, stating that it was assisting the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security with their immigration efforts.
San Diego
Photos of agents making arrests on Sunday were also posted on X by the DEA’s San Diego branch.
Denver
Many people affiliated to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TdA, were arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division on Sunday after they carried out a search warrant at a makeshift club in Denver.
ICE found that at least 41 of the 49 individuals within the building at the time were not authorized to be in the United States.
Miami
Miami saw raids on Sunday as well.
A Nicaraguan national who was being held at the Broward County Jail on outstanding charges of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, unauthorized carry of a concealed weapon, firing a firearm in public, and driving with a suspended license was among those apprehended, according to the ICE Miami office.
The Jamaican national was also taken into custody on suspicion of possessing oxycodone, operating a car without a valid license, and exhibiting a firearm during a felony offense.
Miami’s Homeland Security Investigation agency posted images of agents holding individuals on X. The arrests, according to the administration, were the consequence of outstanding cooperation in upholding American immigration laws and guaranteeing community safety.
Atlanta
The DEA’s Atlanta office said on Sunday that it took part in an operation to assist the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, and other federal law enforcement partners in their efforts to enforce immigration laws in Atlanta.
Wilson Rogelio Vel squez Cruz, an immigrant from Honduras, was detained inside a Tucker church called Iglesia Fuente de Vida, according to his relatives, who spoke to Atlanta’s NBC affiliate WXIA.
According to his relatives, agents first visited his house and then his church.
According to his wife, who spoke to the channel, he entered the country in 2022 with his wife and three kids on a work permit that was good for four more years as he awaited the outcome of an asylum case. His detention was the first time he had been held since he crossed the border in 2022, and he had been given an immigration GPS monitor.
Various cities in Texas
According to an ICE officer who spoke to NBC News, ICE carried out targeted operations in North Texas on Sunday, including in Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Fort Worth, and Collin County, which led to the arrest of at least 84 persons.
According to the official, several of them were singled out because of varied levels of criminal activity in their past. Collateral arrests, or arrests of people who just so happened to be in the vicinity of a targeted individual, accounted for a portion of the apprehensions. How many of the 84 were collateral arrests is unknown.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
“I would like to express my solidarity with all the families affected by these measures,” said San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero on Sunday, acknowledging the implementation of Trump’s immigration executive order. Additionally, I want to make it clear that I have not yet received official notification from any federal body regarding the specifics of the procedures being implemented in our community.
According to him, the operations are not being supported or collaborated with by San Juan’s government agencies or municipal police.
He noted that in order to guarantee that their rights are upheld and that due process of law is followed, San Juan would provide support, orientation, citizenship lessons, and help to those who require it. In order to optimize our efforts, I have instructed the Office of Immigrant Assistance to provide the resources that are required.
“San Juan will remain a place where diversity and inclusion are highly valued under my administration,” he continued.