Washington: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has significantly ramped up its operations across the country, tripling its daily arrest target from 1,000 to 3,000 under the directive of President Donald Trump’s administration. This aggressive escalation has sparked outrage among immigrant communities, human rights groups, and Democrats who argue that the agency is pursuing migrants indiscriminately — and abandoning its stated focus on criminal offenders.
Reports from multiple states detail arrests at unexpected places: a high school volleyball player detained after a traffic stop in Massachusetts, migrant workers picked up at a popular Italian restaurant in San Diego, and courthouse detentions involving individuals who had entered the U.S. legally. ICE has also been accused of conducting arrests at places like Home Depot and garment warehouses, prompting protests in cities like Los Angeles.
“It seems like they’re just arresting people they think might be in the country without status and amenable to deportation,” said Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. immigration policy program at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.
Sources told Reuters that the push for higher arrest numbers came after a White House directive to accelerate deportations. This included a heated late-May meeting in which Trump’s top immigration advisor, Stephen Miller, criticized ICE leadership for failing to deliver higher arrest figures. Miller reportedly pushed ICE to abandon prioritization strategies and instead target any immigration offender — regardless of criminal background — with an emphasis on visible locations like convenience stores and hardware retailers.
“The message was ‘all about the numbers, not the level of criminality,’” said one source familiar with the meeting.
This shift undercuts Trump’s earlier claims that his administration was only targeting the “worst of the worst.” Critics say ICE is now sweeping up low-risk individuals who have been complying with monitoring programs, some of whom have pending visa applications or have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives.
Arrests Despite Compliance and Legal Proceedings
Among the most high-profile recent cases is Emerson Colindres, a 19-year-old soccer standout from Honduras who was detained last week in Ohio. Colindres, who came to the U.S. at the age of eight, was enrolled in ICE’s “alternatives to detention” program — which monitors individuals via ankle bracelets, phone calls, and check-ins.
He was taken into custody after responding to a text message summoning him for a routine appointment, despite having a pending visa application and a history of compliance.
“They want to deport him, but he knows nothing about our country,” said his mother, Ada Baquedano. “He’s been here since he was very little.”
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson said Colindres had a final deportation order, and emphasized that too many individuals with similar orders had previously avoided detention.
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“If you are in the country illegally and a judge has ordered you to be removed, that is precisely what will happen,” the spokesperson stated.
The DHS also defended arrests in San Diego and Massachusetts, stating they were supported by criminal search warrants or final removal orders.
Rising Political and Public Pushback
The surge in arrests has fueled protests across the country. In Los Angeles, demonstrators filled the streets over the weekend in response to ICE raids at labor sites and community spaces. Legal challenges are mounting as well, particularly in jurisdictions like Los Angeles where a 2024 court decision has limited ICE’s ability to conduct residential arrests and where local law enforcement does not cooperate fully with federal immigration officials.
“The numbers they want are just not possible in a place like L.A. unless you go to day laborer sites and arrest every illegal alien,” said a former ICE official, pointing to the practical and legal challenges of meeting the administration’s quotas.
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Despite the backlash, the White House remains steadfast in its approach.
“If you are present in the United States illegally, you will be deported,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said. “This is the promise President Trump made to the American people and the administration is committed to keeping it.”
With deportation numbers expected to rise and arrests extending beyond traditional enforcement targets, ICE’s operations reflect a fundamental shift in U.S. immigration enforcement — one that prioritizes volume over discretion.
