President Donald Trump called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to expand deportation efforts in Democratic cities and “do all in their power” to achieve mass deportations in a social media post Sunday.
“ICE Officers are herewith ordered, by notice of this TRUTH, to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” the president posted onTruth Socialas he traveled on Air Force One to Canada for the G7 summit.
The president’s post comes asCNN has reportedthat ICE has been racing to meet White House arrest quotas and on the heels of Trump acknowledging that his immigration policies have impacted farm workers and those in the hospitality industry.
The White House hasenlisted componentsacross the federal government to achieve its goal of 3,000 immigration-related arrests per day. But while the Trump administration has publicly touted its enforcement efforts, officials have privately faced criticism for failing to meet that quota, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
The president also directed ICE to “expand efforts” in “the Democrat Power Center” while claiming without evidence that his political opponents are using “Illegal Aliens” to “cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State.”
“We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” Trump said.
The administration’s immigration crackdown sparkedprotests in Los Angelesearlier this month, which prompted the president to mobilize both National Guard troops and Marines to deal with demonstrations over federal raids in the city.
Protests have expanded across the country, culminating in hundreds of thousands of anti-Trump protesters taking to the streets in“No Kings” protests nationwideover the weekend.
Since Trump took office, ICE, which had previously been operating with a set of guidelines focused on public safety and national security threats, has had to pivot as the key agency at the core of the president’s campaign promise to carry out mass deportations. Recent arrests have taken place during routine immigration checks, and at immigration court and worksites.
Immigration-enforcement operations have created a chilling effect on some industries heavily reliant on immigrant workforces, including farms and hotels, and as ICE races to fulfill Trump’s goal to increase deportations. The presidentappeared to acknowledgeThursday that his immigration policies are straining those sectors.
“Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace,” Trumpsaidon Truth Social. “We must protect our Farmers, but get the CRIMINALS OUT OF THE USA. Changes are coming!”
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Michael Williams contributed to this post.