ICE to conduct major immigration operations in three cities per week

Source: NBC News

Jan. 28, 2025, 11:49 AM EST


Federal enforcement agencies are targeting three U.S. cities per week for large-scale immigration arrests, with Aurora, Colorado, to come next, three sources familiar with the planning told NBC News.

So far this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, have focused arrests in Chicago, in an operation that began Sunday, and New York City, where arrests began Tuesday. Those efforts will next shift to Aurora for an operation beginning Thursday morning, the sources said.

Aurora, about 40 minutes outside of Denver, was a focus for President Donald Trump during his presidential campaign as he said the city had been “infected by Venezuela,” referring to reports of criminal activity by a Venezuelan gang. City officials pushed back on Trump’s rhetoric, and police Chief Todd Chamberlain told NBC News that Aurora is “very safe.”

Sources familiar with plans to carry out Trump’s promise of mass deportation operations said ICE field offices across the country have been told to increase their routine operations to pick up more migrants. Those operations may include some federal law enforcement agents from other agencies, they said. In addition, agents across federal agencies will fly into three cities per week for larger operations, for what one source described as an “all hands on deck” approach to boost the number of arrests.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/ice-conduct-major-immigration-operations-three-cities-week-rcna189608