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Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE raids have led to the arrest of 7,412 individuals over nine days across multiple states. 

The Trump administration is aggressively pursuing its immigration enforcement policies, making good on its promises to crack down on illegal immigration.

By January 31, ICE had arrested individuals it identified as being in the country illegally and placed an estimated 6,000 detainers on others.

ICE officers have been conducting raids at homes, workplaces, and various other establishments. Deportations have increased, and reports suggest that the administration is considering sending the most violent offenders to Guantánamo Bay.

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ICE Raids Escalate Nationwide

According to Fox News Digital, between January 21 and 22, ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants, many of whom have criminal histories. This involves offenses such as sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drug and weapons violations, resisting arrest, and domestic violence.

The arrested individuals came from various countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal, and Venezuela. The raids occurred in several states, including Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida, and Maryland.

In addition to the arrests, ICE has issued numerous detainers—requests for local authorities to notify ICE when certain foreign nationals are set to be released from custody. Many of these individuals were detained for crimes such as homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, battery, and robbery.

Homeland Security and Border Czar Focus on Public Safety

Border czar Tom Homan has emphasized that the administration is primarily targeting violent illegal immigrants, although other undocumented individuals may also be affected by these efforts.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE operations, stated that federal immigration authorities are working to arrest the "worst of the worst." She emphasized that the increased enforcement is making communities safer.

Many of these ICE raids have been carried out in coordination with other federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Noem recently participated in an immigration enforcement raid in New York City, where officers arrested Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, an alleged ringleader of the violent Tren de Aragua gang.

Zambrano-Pacheco was previously seen in a viral video showing armed men breaking down an apartment door in Aurora, Colorado, last summer.

Additionally, ICE agents in Massachusetts arrested Luis Adolfo Guerra Perez, 19, a Guatemalan citizen and MS-13 gang member. Guerra Perez, who had previously been ordered deported but was released by a Boston court, now faces state gun charges.

Targeting Public Safety Threats

These arrests come as the Trump administration moves quickly to implement its large-scale deportation strategy, which is focused on—but not limited to—public safety threats.

Fox News reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expanded the powers of expedited removal, reversing a Biden-era policy that restricted ICE’s enforcement operations.

"Teams are out there as of today," Homan stated. "We gave them direction to prioritize public safety threats that we're looking for. We've been working up the target list."

Homan also noted that while the immediate focus is on individuals with criminal backgrounds, ICE agents will not limit their arrests to this group. 

"Right out of the gate, it's public safety threats, those who are in the country illegally that have been convicted [or] arrested for serious crimes," he said. "But let me be clear. There's not only public safety threats that will be arrested, because in sanctuary cities, we're not allowed to get that public safety threat in the jail, which means we got to go to the neighborhood and find him."