Arrest Quotas Ordered as ICE Accelerates Raids on Illegal Migrants

Federal law enforcement agents are stepping up raids to arrest illegal migrants around the country, with the focus right now on capturing the most dangerous criminals. 

In New York City, sweeping raids captured a member of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, who was wanted for burglary in Colorado. 

The raids were conducted by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tagged along with some of the agents to get a first-hand look at how law enforcement conducts such operations. 

Secretary Noem also said filming such raids is important for transparency. 

“This is our nation's law enforcement — judicial process. The scales of justice are equally applied to everybody. We want transparency on this. I believe that this is an accountability measure,” Secretary Noem told CBS. 

Ramping Up Arrests

Meanwhile the Washington Post reports that the Trump Administration directed ICE to aggressively ramp up the number of people they arrest, from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500 a day. Each of ICE’s field offices was told to make 75 arrests a day with managers being held accountable for failing to meet the quota. 

This comes as the Post reports that President Trump is disappointed with the results of the raids so far. 

And while White House Border Czar Tom Homan insists that the initial raids are simply targeting the most dangerous criminals, others worry the quotas could force officers to engage in indiscriminate enforcement tactics. 

“Quotas will incentivize ICE officers to arrest the easiest people to arrest, rather than the people that are dangerous noncitizens,” said former Dallas ICE chief counsel Paul Hunker, who left his position with ICE last year. 

Still, Homan sees it much differently, calling the initial raids a success, including one in Chicago, which also took Tren de Aragua members off the streets. 

“Six hours in Chicago, and we made the city a lot safer. It’s a shame we couldn’t get these guys in the county jails, but the sanctuary cities don’t let us in their jails,” said Homan.