Immigration arrests in the US have soared in recent months, aided by more local law enforcement cooperation with ICE, increased use of technology to track and process people, as well as enhanced data sharing between federal agencies.
Throughout the summer, ICE agents partnered with local police to conduct traffic stops and picked up people at homes and job sites. Others were detained at immigration courts or routine immigration appointments. Current and former officials said immigration officers are under growing pressure from the White House to hit a goal of 3,000 arrests per day. More than 1,200 people were arrested by ICE following tips from TSA through early June, according to internal government data shared with Reuters.
“ICE Officers are herewith ordered … to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History,” Trump declared on Truth Social in June.
At airports, following tips shared by the Transportation Security Administration, ICE has targeted people who had previously overstayed visas, even if they subsequently applied for asylum or married a US citizen and had a path to legal status.
Among the easiest people to find are those who have shared their personal information with the US government, hoping to achieve legal status. These include immigrants being sponsored for green cards by US citizen family members, those with asylum claims – and the more than a million people who have had their temporary legal status revoked during Trump’s second term. Dolores Mendoza, 62, and Roberto Avalos, 64, were detained last week at an airport in Birmingham, Alabama, after returning from a trip to California to visit family. The couple entered the country on tourist visas in 2015, and stayed and adopted their three US citizen grandchildren after their daughter died of breast cancer.
Many also “have long roots in the United States and may be more likely to be able to quickly find a lawyer through their US family members and may be more aware of their rights,” said Julia Gelatt, an associate director at the Migration Policy Institute think tank.
The youngest “hasn’t come out of his room often,” Marvin said. His other brother is “more angry than anything.”The couple’s lawyer has filed a case in federal court contesting the detention as unlawful.
