President Trump’s shock and awe strategy has fueled a surge in immigration arrests in the interior of the country, as the government’s deportation force said it made nearly 1,000 new arrests Sunday, bringing the four-day total to nearly 2,400.
Among those arrested were dozens of gang members, including migrants tied to Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that has infiltrated the U.S. over the past three years. Mr. Trump has designated it as an enemy militia.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said other targets late last week included a convicted murderer, habitual drunken drivers, drug dealers and migrants charged with sex crimes.
ICE announced Sunday that it had begun “enhanced targeted operations” in Chicago.
Meanwhile, the Army’s 101st Airborne Division announced that it was mobilizing troops from a military police battalion to help with what Mr. Trump declared an “invasion” of illegal immigrants.
Pentagon officials have said the additional military personnel will help the Border Patrol spot illegal border crossings.
SEE ALSO: Feds nab nearly 50 Tren de Aragua gang members in raid outside Denver
Military planes are being used to deport migrants from the border directly back to their home countries.
In a diplomatic dispute Sunday, Colombia refused two flights and called them undignified. Mr. Trump swiftly responded by threatening crippling tariffs on all Colombian exports to the U.S. and travel restrictions on its leaders.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro then offered to send a presidential plane to the U.S. to pick up the deported Colombians while insisting that his government wanted to ensure a “dignified” process.
The all-hands effort is paying off.
In the first three days of the Trump administration, illegal border crossings dropped 35% from the last three days of President Biden’s tenure, according to figures shared during the Senate debate last week over confirming Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary.
Officials in Pima County, Arizona, announced Thursday that they were shutting down two migrant shelters because no illegal immigrants had been caught and released into their community since Mr. Trump took office. They said keeping the shelters open as a contingency would be too expensive.
SEE ALSO: Democrats are splintered on immigration and how to respond to Trump
The Department of Homeland Security celebrated the early wins.
“Promises made, promises kept,” the department said in an email to reporters. “President Trump is already securing our border and deporting criminal aliens.”
Tom Homan, Mr. Trump’s border czar, told ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday that the moves are designed to send a message that the Biden days of leniency for illegal border crossers are over.
“If we don’t show there’s consequences, you’re never going to fix the border problem,” he said.
Part of the message is a much more aggressive approach to touting arrests.
ICE’s account on social media platform X has begun posting a daily activity tally.
It said agents and officers made 538 arrests on Thursday, 593 on Friday, 286 on Saturday and 956 on Sunday.
ICE officers lodged 1,797 deportation “detainer” requests with other law enforcement agencies. Detainers ask the agencies to notify ICE when a target is being released from custody so deportation officers can be on hand to pick them up.
Sanctuary cities often refuse those requests.
The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, which is a sanctuary city, generated national headlines late last week when he complained that ICE “terrorized” residents in the arrests of three illegal immigrants at a business on Thursday.
Mayor Ras Baraka said officers didn’t have a warrant when they went into the back of the business and detained and questioned a U.S. military veteran as they were seeking targets for their arrests.
“The problem with this is that none of these people were rapists or murderers or criminals,” the mayor said. “The problem with it is that ICE went in there without a warrant.”
ICE didn’t address the warrant claims but defended its officers’ handling of the encounters. It said officers “may request identification to establish an individual’s identity.”
ICE averaged nearly 600 arrests a day over the four-day period. That’s a 90% increase over the pace set by the Biden administration in fiscal 2024.
The agency highlighted the arrest in Buffalo, New York, of Julio Cesar Diaz Martinez, whose charges include sex trafficking, and in Denver of Pablo Beningo Calva-Deamonte, who had three DUIs on his record.
ICE also arrested Cesar Augusto Polanco, 59, a Dominican Republic citizen and convicted murderer, and Jose Tito Reyes, 54, a Salvadoran with a sex crimes record, according to data from an administration official.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.