WASHINGTON – A nationwide crackdown on immigrant families will be started today to discourage a surge of Central American migrants.
The operation is expected to target hundreds of families in ten cities that have recently been ordered deported by an immigration court but have not yet left the country, the Radio Pakistan reported.
Earlier this week, US President Trump revealed the operation on Twitter last month and then postponed it. It is unusual for the government to announce deportation operations ahead of time.
“People are coming into this country illegally, we are taking them out legally,” Trump told reporters on Friday, calling it a “major operation” that would mainly focus on removing criminals.
In a typical week, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests thousands of immigrants who are staying in the country illegally, according to government data. Most of those arrests are made without any advance publicity.
Immigrant advocates have said the advance word of the weekend raids could help some of those targeted to evade arrest.
But the president, speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, said he was not concerned that the advance notice could help targeted immigrants evade arrest.
