President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ramp up deportations in Democratic-led cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.
The directive, announced via Trump’s Truth Social platform on Sunday, aims to achieve what he called “the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”
This follows weeks of heightened ICE activity, with White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller stating that agents are targeting 3,000 arrests daily, a sharp increase from the 650 daily arrests earlier in Trump’s second term.
The intensified enforcement has sparked widespread protests, including the “No Kings” rallies held Saturday across the U.S., with an estimated 70,000 participants in Chicago alone.
In Los Angeles, police used tear gas to disperse crowds, while Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson urged residents to “resist” federal raids, calling them “a war on our humanity.”
Cristina Pacione-Zayas, Johnson’s chief of staff, warned of potential military-style tactics in Chicago, citing “mini tanks” and “chemical agents” observed in Los Angeles.
Despite these tensions, Trump credited the National Guard’s presence for preventing violence in Los Angeles, stating, “If we didn’t have the National Guard on call and ready, they would rip Los Angeles apart.”
Amid the crackdown, Trump has adjusted his approach to shield certain industries.
Following concerns from hotel, agriculture, and leisure sectors about losing workers, Trump posted on Truth Social that his “very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them.”
Consequently, ICE official Tatum King instructed regional leaders to pause investigations into farms, restaurants, and hotels.
However, the lack of transparent data from ICE on detainment numbers continues to fuel uncertainty, with local leaders like those in Chicago questioning the legality of recent arrests, including a documented ICE detainment in Pilsen on June 2, 2025.