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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will launch raids across the country on Sunday to target immigrant families who have received deportation orders, according to reports. News of the raids come less than a week after President Donald Trump announced that “millions” of deportations would happen as early as next week.
The Washington Post first reported the planned Sunday raids on Friday afternoon, citing three unnamed U.S. officials with knowledge of the orders. The Miami Herald later reported that Miami would be among the first cities to be raided.
The raids on Sunday will target up to 2,000 families, according to the Post. ICE and Department of Homeland Security officials are referring to the plan as “family op,” an apparent reference to the intention to target families.
At least nine other major cities are reportedly being targeted, including Atlanta, Chicago, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans and San Francisco, according to the reports. All of the cities have large immigrant populations.
Trump tweeted about the deportations on Monday night, saying the migrants would be “removed as fast as they come in.”
Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in. Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people…….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
….long before they get to our Southern Border. Guatemala is getting ready to sign a Safe-Third Agreement. The only ones who won’t do anything are the Democrats in Congress. They must vote to get rid of the loopholes, and fix asylum! If so, Border Crisis will end quickly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019
The nationwide sweep appears to be in line with reports last month that the White House proposed a secret plan to the DHS to arrest thousands of undocumented parents and children in cities with large immigrant communities.
The plan was aimed at discouraging migrants from illegally crossing the southern U.S. border, according to reports in May from the Post and The Associated Press.
It was reportedly shelved after then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and then-ICE head Ron Vitiello challenged the plan, raising concerns about resources and the possibility of public outrage over the raids.