Trump Begins Second Term With Immigration Crackdown; 538 Migrants Arrested, Hundreds Deported

Trump administration has said that 538 migrants and deported hundreds in a mass operation that was carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration and started his second term with a series of executive actions to reform US entry policies.

Source : PTI

US President Donald Trump is taking action against "illegal immigrants" just days after came into the White House for a second term. US authorities have arrested 538 migrants and deported hundreds in a mass operation, his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said late Thursday, according to an AFP report.

"The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals", Leavitt wrote in an X post, adding that "hundreds" were deported by military aircraft.

🚨TODAY: The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 24, 2025

"The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway. Promises made. Promises kept," she said.

The Trump Administration also deported hundreds of illegal immigrant criminals via military aircraft.

The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.

Promises made. Promises kept.

— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 24, 2025

During his campaign, Trump promised to crack down on illegal immigration and started his second term with a series of executive actions to reform US entry policies. According to AFP, on Thursday, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents "raided a local establishment... detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without presenting a warrant." He added, that one of those detained during the raid was a US military veteran, "this egregious act is in plain violation" of the US Constitution.

An ICE post on X said: "Enforcement update ... 538 arrests, 373 detainers lodged".

pic.twitter.com/ZdvukddhtA

— ICE (@ICEgov) January 24, 2025

Trump has vowed to carry out the largest deportation in American history which will impact about 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States. Trump on his first day had signed an order to deploy troops to try, to stop all illegal entry at the southern US border and vowed to deport criminal aliens. Trump also announced his administration would reinstate the "Remain in Mexico" policy from his first term, requiring individuals applying to enter the US from Mexico to remain there until their application is decided. Additionally, the White House has suspended an asylum program for people fleeing authoritarian regimes in Central and South America, leaving thousands stranded on the Mexican side of the border.

Earlier in the week the Republican-led US Congress green-lit a bill to expand pretrial incarceration for foreign criminal suspects.