Federal officials celebrated a significant increase in immigration enforcement activities across the country, including Arizona, where hundreds of arrests were made.
On Sunday, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Phoenix Division took to X (formerly Twitter) to share several photos showcasing their collaboration with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and other Department of Justice partners in supporting immigration efforts. Although the agency did not disclose the specific location in Arizona where the photos were captured, they highlighted their involvement in this critical mission.
The DEA later confirmed in a subsequent post on Monday afternoon that operations in Arizona were ongoing. They announced that a person wanted for homicide in Mexico had been apprehended by a team. However, the specific location of the arrest within the state remains unclear.
“They’re not sweeps. They’re targeted enforcement operations,” stated Stewart, a retired ICE agent from Arizona.
According to him, immigration agents do not randomly show up at places hoping to catch undocumented immigrants.
“Currently, they are actively targeting the most dangerous individuals in our society. These are individuals with a long history of serious criminal activities,” he explained. “By apprehending these criminals, ICE is playing a crucial role in ensuring the safety of our neighborhoods.”
According to him, these raids may result in unintended detentions or arrests of undocumented individuals who happen to be in the vicinity.
“If you are arrested and found to be in the country illegally, you will receive an NTA and have to appear before a judge. However, it is important to note that this does not automatically result in deportation,” he explained.
According to Juliana Manzanarez, an immigration attorney based in Phoenix, the decision to deport an individual lies in the hands of a judge. However, she clarifies that immediate deportation is unlikely to occur.
According to Manzanarez, approximately half of the calls he received today were inquiries about what actions to take if ICE visits someone’s home, workplace, or any other location.
According to Manzanarez, if the owner does not grant permission, agents must obtain a warrant to enter such places. Even if a warrant is obtained, undocumented immigrants still maintain certain rights.
“When you are in the United States, you have certain rights that are similar to the ones you see on TV shows,” she said. “You have the right to remain silent, the right to call someone, speak to an attorney, and refuse to answer any further questions.”
Top Trump administration officials, including Tom Homan, the “border czar,” and the acting deputy attorney general, visited Chicago on Sunday to observe the implementation of intensified immigration enforcement in the country’s third-largest city. Federal agencies highlighted multiple arrests across the nation during this period.
Several details about the operation were not immediately disclosed to the public, including the total number of arrests made. However, the extensive involvement of various federal agencies highlighted President Donald Trump’s commitment to utilizing federal law enforcement resources beyond the Department of Homeland Security in order to fulfill his longstanding promise of conducting mass deportations.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, they reported a total of 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 arrests on Saturday. It is worth noting that while some of these operations may have been routine, ICE has been averaging 311 daily arrests throughout the fiscal year that concluded on September 30th.
According to Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, he witnessed immigration agents from the DHS working alongside agents from the FBI, DEA, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. However, he did not provide any specific information about the operation. It is worth noting that this operation took place shortly after the DHS extended immigration authority to agencies within the Department of Justice, including the DEA and ATF.
“We are committed to providing support to individuals at the federal, state, and local levels who are dedicated to reclaiming our communities,” Bove stated. “We will utilize every available resource to tackle any obstruction or illegal barriers that may hinder our efforts in safeguarding our homeland. Above all, we will persist until the task is accomplished.”
Since Trump assumed office, there have been numerous reports of immigration enforcement operations taking place across the country, as confirmed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These operations, which have been ongoing, have also been mentioned in social media posts by other DEA and Homeland Security offices. In fact, there have been weekend operations reported in states such as Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska, and Texas.
According to CNN, sources have revealed that at least two agencies assisting ICE with the arrests have instructed their personnel to wear clothing that clearly shows their respective agency. This instruction is to ensure that they can be easily identified if they are filmed by journalists. Even agents who are on the perimeter of operations were specifically told to wear raid jackets, taking into consideration the media attention surrounding the arrests.
Last week, deportation flights commenced, including in Tucson. The Department of Defense (DOD) shared pictures of CBP agents escorting individuals onto a C-17 GlobeMaster III aircraft bound for Guatemala.