Senior Trump administration officials are intensifying pressure on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ordering the agency to ramp up immigration arrests to 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day, according to recent reports.
Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), issued the directive to ICE as part of a push to sharply increase enforcement metrics. The target is three times higher than the daily arrest goal previously outlined at the start of Trump’s second term.
According to Axios on May 28, Miller held a meeting at ICE headquarters on May 21, where he directly addressed field commanders and officers. Known as a key architect of Trump’s immigration agenda, Miller demanded a significant increase in arrest numbers and criticized the agency’s recent performance. Some ICE officials reportedly left the meeting fearing they could be fired for failing to meet the new quotas.
The pressure from Trump’s inner circle comes amid concerns that ICE’s arrest and deportation rates have not risen compared to the previous administration.
Despite a drop in unauthorized border crossings due to stricter entry measures, ICE has struggled to increase its deportation totals. In response, agents have begun targeting interior enforcement locations, including immigration courts.
On May 28, NBC News reported that Dylan Lopez Contreras, a 20-year-old Venezuelan student attending a public high school in New York City, was arrested by ICE agents while appearing for a scheduled hearing in immigration court. A day earlier, on May 27, four other undocumented immigrants were arrested at an immigration court in San Francisco.
These incidents highlight a shift in enforcement strategy, with ICE agents expanding operations beyond the border to courtrooms and legal venues as part of a broader crackdown.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
