The Department of Homeland Security denied reports that immigration agents had been told over the weekend to stop arresting non-criminals during their enforcement efforts.
“This is false. No one is off the table. We will continue to arrest any and all illegal aliens that come into our path,” DHS wrote in an email and shared to X, adding that “ICE has initiated a nationwide public safety surge in sanctuary cities where our brave officers will be targeting criminal illegal aliens.”
The Daily Wire first reported that a new policy was aimed at only targeting immigrants with a criminal record and would also end “collateral arrests,” which occur when individuals that are not the focus of immigration enforcement officials are arrested in an operation.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin said on X that he spoke with President Donald Trump as well as several ICE and DHS sources about the guidance and was “told it’s erroneous, was some type of ‘miscommunication’ during conversations about prioritizing ‘worst first.’”
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New guidance went out to ICE field offices on Saturday night reaffirming that there has been no change in immigration enforcement policy, Melugin wrote in a post Saturday, and the “collateral arrests” of those without a criminal history will continue.
DHS did not immediately respond to a request from The Washington Sun to confirm that the department sent out guidance reaffirming ICE’s policies.
The Trump administration’s federal immigration enforcement efforts have drawn scrutiny from Democrats and members of local communities where ICE is present.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan man with no known criminal record, was shot by an ICE officer on Sept. 20 in Austin. Garces Perez had a final order of removal, according to DHS, but his lawyer argued that he had missed an immigration hearing because a notice was sent to an old address.
Since the Trump administration crackdown began, 21 people have been shot by ICE agents, resulting in eight fatalities, according to an ABC News’ report last week.
The Trump administration has engaged in an aggressive approach to immigration enforcement efforts, with more than 605,000 deportations and another 1.9 million people self-deporting — meaning the individual leaves the U.S. rather than being removed by the government — according to the White House’s website.
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