(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump is frustrated with the number of arrests made by immigration officials in the U.S., NewsNation has confirmed.
“The numbers are too f—— low,” the president told aides, as recounted to a source with knowledge of the matter.
“He wants more,” the source described the president’s demand.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement averaged 787 arrests per day between Jan. 23-31.
Asked last week if ICE needs to do more, border czar Tom Homan said, “They’re doing a great job, but they’ve got to do more.”
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Administration officials confirmed some detainees were released back into the country after being arrested.
“I was made aware of that this morning, and I will address that today, but I’ve been told that some were released because of some health concerns that we could not handle within ICE detention,” Homan said last week, adding “the president made it clear we’re ending ‘catch-and-release.’”
There were 461 released from custody out of more than 8,000 arrested since President Trump took office, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week.
“It’s less than 6%. There are reasons for their release; some factors include lack of significant likelihood of removal in the foreseeable future, lack of detention availability, and some have serious medical conditions,” Leavitt said.
Meanwhile, immigration agents are continuing enforcement actions across the country.
“We’re going after those that have been the violent criminals, perpetuating crimes in our communities, also those with final removal orders, and then we will continue down the priority list,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday.
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Noem also confirmed previous reports ICE is over capacity.
“Remember, we’re continuously busing people back to Mexico, continuously flying people out of the country and repatriating them back … there’s still room, absolutely,” she said.
One part of the problem has been the lack of facilities to house detained migrants. Noem said besides ICE detention facilities, some local law enforcement and different governments have offered their facilities.
Also, to combat the shortage, the administration is now constructing new detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. Flights to Guantanamo carrying migrants began last week.
Work is now underway by military forces at Guantanamo to dramatically increase the capacity to hold detained persons. Eventually, the base is expected to hold up to 30,000 people.
