Over 300 immigrants arrested on first day of ICE raid, Trump’s border czar says

More than 300 migrants were arrested Tuesday in raids conducted across the country by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.

A source familiar with the matter confirmed the information toThe Independent but asked not to be identified because they did not have permission to speak to the media. Some of the 308 migrants were arrested in their homes, on the street and released into ICE custody from local jails.

All agency field offices that could send officers out were asked to do so.

open image in gallery

Some of the migrants detained had a final order of removal. Some of those detained from jails had been arrested for major crimes, including murder, sexual assault, and sexual assault involving minors.

No minors were arrested in the raids, the official said. The migrants will now go into enforcement removal operations custody until they are deported or another ruling is made by an immigration court. They’ll be held in an ICE detention facility near where the arrests took place or transported to facilities in other jurisdictions.

President Donald Trump’s Border Czar boasted about the arrests during an interview with Fox News Wednesday.

“We’re concentrating on the worst first, the public safety threats and national security threats,” said Tom Homan. “And just yesterday, in the last 24 hours, ICE arrested over 308 ... serious criminals.”

Homan did not describe the arrests as raids, noting that officials know exactly who they’re going to go after and where they’re located. “ICE is performing excellent right now out in the field, and they’re going to continue every day,” he added.

Migrants around the country did not show up to work Tuesday out of fear of the mass deportation raids Trump promised on the campaign trail.

A Chicago neighborhood known as “Mexico of the Midwest” had little to no foot traffic a day after Trump’s inauguration. Shortly before Trump took office, rumors swirled that the city could be the first location of a mass raid.

open image in gallery

Similar scenes played out in different states. In California, Central Valley farmworkers have failed to show up to work, bringing the state’s citrus harvest to a screeching halt.

Several union officers for United Farm Workers, a labor union that advocates for migrant farmworkers, received mailed-in bulletins reading: “Report illegal aliens at schools, at work, at church, at restaurants, in your neighborhood. There is nowhere to hide.”

An envelope used to send one of the bulletins had a brief message on the front: “Trump’s coming.”

Federal agencies are taking drastic measures to ensure Trump’s agenda is enforced. The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday it would allow ICE agents to arrest undocumented people at or near houses of worship, schools and hospitals.

The Department of Justice has directed federal prosecutors to investigate and bring criminal charges against state and local officials who don’t cooperate.

U.S. mayors, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Chicago Mayor Bandon Johnson, have said their cities’ police departments will not be focused on carrying out immigration raids.

In a statement on X, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker posted an advisory from the state’s Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights accompanied by the following message: “Every family and child deserves to feel safe and secure in the place they call home. Every resident of Illinois should know their rights. I intend to protect those rights and ensure our state laws are followed.”