A week into President Trump’s second term, he is aiming to let the public know that he is the man to accomplish the immigration goals his allies and other extremists have asked for. But the consequences of his newly implemented executive orders and ICE enforcement actions have made his inauguration speech assertion that he’s implementing a “revolution of common sense” increasingly ironic on a national scale.
In New York, many families across the five boroughs are keeping their kids out of school because of deportation fears. It is difficult to estimate exactly how many people have so far been impacted, but an estimated 48,000 newcomers have enrolled in city schools since summer 2022.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Justice Department said on Sunday that it has started a multiagency immigration enforcement operation in Chicago as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to intensify arrests and deportations. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove oversaw the operation, labeling it a response to a “national emergency” caused by what he called “failed immigration policy,” The New York Times reported.
Federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration, were mobilized for the operation, though local officials said they were not involved. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday also confirmed it has begun raids in Chicago, calling them “enhanced targeted operations” in a statement, and aims “to enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities.”
In Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Ras Baraka said ICE agents raided a seafood store on Thursday, detaining several individuals, including a U.S. military veteran. According to a report by Pix 11, store owner Luis Janota stated that agents targeted Hispanic workers and asked for documentation, but didn’t question others. Baraka condemned the raid as a violation of the Fourth Amendment and pledged to defend civil rights. ICE described the operation as part of an active investigation but did not provide further details.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration directed ICE field offices to meet a quota of 75 arrests per day, aiming to significantly increase apprehensions of undocumented immigrants. In FY 2024, under former President Biden, average daily ICE arrests totaled 310 and average daily ICE detainers served was 409. The latest directive seeks to surpass that number, and place additional pressure on ICE agents to try to meet that goal.
The administration’s approach to implementing its immigration policies has also threatened to jeopardize the U.S.’s long-established trade and bilateral relationships with other countries. Colombia refused to allow two U.S. military planes carrying deported Colombians to land, leading Trump to announce on his Truth Social account that he is imposing emergency retaliatory actions, including 50% tariffs on Colombia. By Sunday evening, criticisms arose about how much impact Trump’s actions would have on the price of coffee: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X: “To ‘punish’ Colombia, Trump is about to make every American pay even more for coffee.”
Eventually, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro decided to send his own presidential plane to “facilitate the dignified return of Colombian nationals.” On X (formerly known as Twitter), Petro responded (translating from Spanish): “We have never refused to take migrants and we have made efforts to stop migration. … But do not demand that I accept deportees from the U.S. handcuffed and arriving on military flights. We are not anyone’s colony.”
Similar to Colombia, the government of Brazil also criticized Trump for the degrading treatment of deported migrants. ICE officials handcuffed Brazilians by their feet and hands on a repatriation flight. CNN reported that Brazil’s foreign ministry said authorities did not authorize the plane to continue due to “the use of handcuffs and chains, the poor condition of the aircraft, with a faulty air conditioning system, among other problems.”
During an interview with ABC News on Sunday evening, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said while the administration’s highest priority for deportation is people who are security threats, they are hoping that the people whose immigration proceedings haven’t kicked off in the U.S. yet will also begin to leave the country.
When asked about the federal government’s existing manpower, Homan said it is in the beginning phases. The government is bringing more resources into this operation with support from other parastatals — including the Department of Justice and Department of Defense (which will be helping with infrastructure and transportation) — who will allow ICE employees to not focus on those areas but instead get on the streets for arrests and other operations, Homan added. Asked by ABC News’ Martha Raddatz if the consequences of immigration law enforcement should include going into schools and grabbing kids, Homan said that “The message needs to be clear. There’s consequences of entering the country illegally.”
As The Washington Post reported on Friday, “The number of [immigrants] arrested — several hundred per day nationwide — has been outpaced by the psychological impact of the attention on ICE operations.”
