(NewsNation) — Federal authorities have arrested more than 1,300 migrants, according to President Donald Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan, who has carried out deportation operations in nearly 10 major cities across the U.S.
Homan told NewsNation on Thursday that of the 1,300 arrested, at least 1,000 have criminal records.
“The other ones are either fugitives who’ve been through immigration court, that became a fugitive, or collaterals … in sanctuary cities because they forced us in the community,” Homan said.
The number of arrests in the first three days of Trump’s presidency represents about 1.1% of total arrests made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in FY2024.
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There were about 310 average arrests per day in 2024, but that average is now about 433 per day — with a high likelihood that number will grow.
Homan said the Biden administration did not allow ICE to arrest migrants unless they were convicted of a serious crime, but that that policy no longer binds agents.
“There’s nothing in the Immigration Nationality Act that says you got to be convicted of a crime. If you’re here illegally, you could be removed,” he said. “Our focus is on arresting public safety threats and national security threats. That’s exactly what we’re doing now.”
Raids have taken place in major cities such as Boston, Denver, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, Washington, D.C., and Newark, N.J., according to media reports.
Several of those cities, such as Newark, are sanctuary cities, which are areas that have refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities in deportation proceedings.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said in a statement Thursday that ICE agents detained multiple people — including U.S. citizens, a U.S. military veteran and undocumented individuals — without a warrant.
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“Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized,” the statement read.
In Chicago, another sanctuary city, Mayor Brandon Johnson launched a campaign in conjunction with the public transportation system in which digital monitors at train stations provide “know your rights” information to migrants, reported WLS-TV.
“Any of the measures that the president is looking to execute against working people in the city of Chicago … ” Johnson said, according to the outlet, “We will defend our city. It’s just that simple.”
But Homan pushed back on sanctuary cities, saying if they cooperated by allowing ICE into local jails, then federal agents wouldn’t have to go into communities to arrest people.
“They’re not letting us in the county jail because of their sanctuary laws, but if we can arrest the bad guy in the safety and security of a jail — which is safer for the officer, safer for the aliens, safer for the community — then it’d be a lot less of the type of low-level offenders, and be a lot less arrested,” Homan said.
When agents are forced into the community, “sanctuary cities will get exactly what they don’t want: more agents in neighborhoods and more collateral arrests while we’re doing this criminal operation,” he said.
“I hope the sanctuary cities come around,” he said.
