In New York City, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem joined federal agents on an immigration raid targeting a well-known Venezuelan gang member. The operation took place on a Tuesday morning.
The secretary is witnessing both criminal and civil enforcement operations, according to sources familiar with the actions in New York.
Noem posted photos of the raids on social media throughout the morning.
Noem accompanied federal law enforcement agents as they pursued a high-priority individual in the Bronx. This person was wanted for crimes such as kidnapping, assault, and burglary. He was suspected of being associated with the Tren de Aragua gang in Venezuela, which had ties to a prior apartment invasion in Aurora, Colorado.
Agents were searching the same location for other targets.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, working alongside federal agencies like the FBI, ATF, DEA, CBP, and the U.S. Marshals Service, initiated targeted operations in New York City. The aim was to uphold U.S. immigration laws, maintain public safety, and safeguard national security by preventing potentially dangerous criminal aliens from residing in our communities,” as stated by an ICE spokesperson.
The agency’s daily arrests, which averaged 311 in the year ending Sept. 30, stayed fairly steady in the first days after President Trump took office, then spiked dramatically Sunday to 956 and Monday to 1,179. If sustained, those numbers would mark the highest daily average since ICE began keeping records.
Trump also has lifted longtime guidelines that restricted ICE from operating at “sensitive locations” such as schools, churches or hospitals. That decision has worried many migrants and advocates who fear children will be traumatized by seeing their parents arrested in the drop-off line at school or that migrants needing medical care won’t go to the hospital for fear of arrest.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other leaders from around the country are being called before Congress to answer questions about immigration.
The House Oversight Committee is set to hold a hearing on February 11.
Congressman James Comer, who is the committee chairman, says Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City have refused to cooperate with federal immigration laws.
Federal authorities say they are targeting violent offenders.
That is no different from the Biden administration, but a big change has already taken hold: Under Trump, officers can now arrest people without legal status if they run across them while looking for migrants targeted for removal. Under Joe Biden, such “collateral arrests” were banned.
Immigration advocates are informing people of their rights and if federal agents knock on their door.
“People will stop accessing services that are desperately needed. We will have victims who are not seeking public safety services. We will have confused parents and school officials, Rosanna Eugino, New York Immigration Coalition, said in a press conference.
President Trump said he is committed to delivering on his campaign promises.
“We’re detaining them and we are throwing them the hell out of our country. We have no apologies and we’re moving forward very fast,” Trump said.
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