New ICE arrest figure. ICE raids in the United States are not expected to let up despite the Republican Party’s defeat in the midterm elections. On the contrary, immigration authorities have been instructed to try to carry out approximately 2,700 arrests a day.
According to a CBS News investigation published on November 8, officials at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received a new goal of about 19,000 arrests a week, up from the previous target of 2,000 arrests a day.
The appointment of Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff reinforces expectations that Donald Trump’s administration will maintain its immigration operations and its restrictions on legal immigration.
Sources at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE told CBS News they have not received instructions to scale back operations after the November 3 election.
One of the officials interviewed was blunt when asked whether operations would decline with Miller leading the president’s staff: “I would expect the opposite.”
White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis also ruled out changes to the deportation strategy and defended the actions taken by the Trump administration.
“This Administration will not let up on its efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens who terrorize our communities,” Bis told CBS News.
For its part, DHS said ICE will not back down or slow the pace of its immigration operations.
Stephen Miller, considered one of the main architects of Trump’s immigration policies, was promoted to chief of staff after the election results.
During Trump’s first term, Miller helped design immigration restrictions and family separation measures that drew strong criticism.
In the current administration, he has also pushed for limits on asylum, restrictions on refugee admissions and stricter requirements to obtain immigration benefits, including green cards.
Officials interviewed by CBS News see his promotion as a sign of continuity, and even of a possible hardening, of immigration policies.
The midterm elections brought significant losses for Republicans, especially in states like Texas, where Latino voters leaned toward Democrats.
According to exit polls cited by CBS News, 58% of American voters said the Trump administration’s deportation measures had gone too far.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, picked up by the outlet Around Prague, Trump acknowledged that some immigration actions had been too harsh, particularly against workers with no criminal records.
However, the president’s statements contrast with the official position of DHS and the White House, which maintain their intention to continue the arrests.
Democrats will take control of both chambers of Congress in January and will be able to pursue investigations, hearings and proposals to restrict funding for immigration operations.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former DHS official, told CBS News that lawmakers could try to limit ICE’s activities through oversight mechanisms.
However, she warned that Trump would likely veto such initiatives and noted that the agency received $75 billion in funding through 2029.
“They’re going to keep going at the same pace. They have the money. They have the resources,” Cardinal Brown said.
Meanwhile, immigration authorities are holding to their detention targets despite the opposition expressed by a significant portion of the American electorate.
