Donald J. Trump took office as the president of The United States January 20th, 2025. Trump pledged for a mass deportation to the U.S. his first day in office.
The operation is larger and more effective than people think. There are currently 11 million people in the United States who do not have their legal status (green card, citizenship).
“Donald Trump told US government agencies to “prepare to immediately repel, repatriate, and remove undocumented immigrants as part of a wider effort to fight what he’s termed an “invasion” across the southern border”, according to BBC News.
“Trump set ambitious deportation goals as he prepared to take office in 2017, pledging to quickly remove 2 million to 3 million people. He ended up deporting about 1.5 million people over four years.” – The Washington Post.
Apparently, ICE usually prioritized immigrants with criminal records, however that does not seem to be the case anymore with the 2025 mass deportation Trump has set in place.
“The administration says removals will pick up quickly, though: ICE and Border Patrol agents have been ordered to deport people who cross the border without authorization immediately and conduct “expedited removals” for people found within the interior of the United States, CBS reports, while major raids are expected in various cities.” (Forbes Article).
The Forbes Article also states, “Trump also suspended the parole program for migrants from four countries and is attempting to restrict birthright citizenship for children of undocumented and non-permanent immigrants.
“However, “a federal judge temporarily blocked the order, which had been slated to take effect on Feb. 19. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour called it “blatantly unconstitutional.”
“There are also logistical hurdles like a limited number of beds to hold people in pre-deportation and planes to use for deportation flights, though Trump ordered the military to assist with aircraft and detention space and removals are only possible if countries are willing to accept deportees, posing a challenge, especially for people from U.S. adversaries like Venezuela.” (Forbes Article)
Where could the deportations start?
“The Trump administration is reportedly aiming to make examples of sanctuary cities, which have policies not to cooperate with the federal government on immigration enforcement”, conducting mass arrests starting there first, according to the Journal. NBC lists: Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Denver and Washington D.C. as possible early targets.
Who will be targeted?
“Trump has repeatedly emphasized that migrants accused of crimes will be the initial targets for deportation, but he’s also said all migrants in the U.S. illegally could be subject to deportations.” Meaning, ICE could arrest undocumented immigrants who aren’t suspected of crimes but were found near people who were ICE targets, which is also known as collateral arrests. “His administration expanded a policy that allows federal officials to expedite deportations for migrants who can not prove they have applied for asylum and have been in the U.S. for less than two years.”
When could the mass arrests and deportations start?
The Trump administration says they could start the mass arrests and deportations immediately. A mass arrest operation was expected to begin in Chicago Tuesday, January 21st, 2025, the day after Trump was inaugurated. “
Trump on Saturday told NBC News the deportations would begin “very early, very quickly,” adding that “we’re already geared up.” 308 people were arrested by ICE the day after Trump’s 2025 inauguration.