Democrat cities should expect 'flood' of ICE agents: White House
Sanctuary cities won't help with ICE arrests
The White House has repeatedly singled out cities from Los Angeles to Denver to Boston for their refusal to assist ICE agents making detentions, and Homan has threatened to arrest elected officials who stymie the president.
Migrant-rights groups warn increased enforcement raises the risk of more civil rights violations and violent confrontations, like the chaotic protests that broke out in Los Angeles last month following ICE raids at a Home Depot, among other locations.
Homan spoke in New York City after an off-duty Border Patrol was injured during an attempted robbery that officials say was committed by an undocumented immigrant. Homan and other White House officials argue the agent would never have been hurt if his alleged assailant had previously been blocked from entering the country or deported.
Trump officials have long complained that many cities run by Democrats refuse to honor requests to detain people on behalf of ICE in local jails, and Homan said doing so makes it harder for ICE to arrest "bad guys" in the safety of a detention center. He said making street arrests is more dangerous for everyone, requiring more personnel to operate safely.
Federal officials say there's been an 800% increase in assaults against immigration agents, although they have declined to release comprehensive data. Last month, Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to help protect federal buildings and assist ICE agents in making detentions, a move that temporarily escalated tensions.
ICE has conducted immigration enforcement actions around the country but it's yet to focus a sustained effort in any particular sanctuary city outside of the Los Angeles area.
Budget balloons for immigrant arrests and detentions
The federal spending plan, among other things, provides funding for 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to help carry out Trump's plan to deport 1 million people annually.
Trump won the White House after campaigning on a platform that included dramatically stricter immigration enforcement and border controls, and the federal funding plan he signed July 4 provides money to dramatically expand the number of ICE agents on the streets, $45 billion for more than 100,000 new detention beds for people facing deportation, $46.6 billion for border wall construction and $10 billion in additional Homeland Security funding.
ICE now has a bigger budget than the FBI, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons combined, according to an analysis by the American Immigration Council.
Public has begun pushing back against Trump's immigration policies
The increased funding for one of Trump's signature policies comes as the American public appears to be growing increasingly concerned about the tactics being deployed. A July 20 poll by CBS/YouGov found that 56% of Americans disapproved of the president's immigration measures, while 44% approved, a 10-point drop from February.
While Trump and Homan argue that anyone living illegally in the United States is by definition a criminal, federal statistics show that only about 36% of current ICE detainees have ever been convicted of a crime, while 31% have pending criminal charges and the remaining 33% are facing just immigration violations, according to analysis by Austin Kocher, a Syracuse University research assistant professor who tracks ICE data.
The nonprofit American Immigration Council criticized the massive funding expansion, which came without any fundamental reform to the nation's immigration process. Many immigrants living in the United States entered under policies that were legal at the time, or have been waiting years for the chance to apply for citizenship.
"Throwing billions at detention centers and enforcement agents is short-sighted. Instead, we should be investing in a system aimed at welcoming immigrants that contribute billions to our economy," said Adriel Orozco, senior policy counsel at the American Immigration Council. "We don't need more jail beds and indiscriminate raids. We need balanced solutions that strengthen due process and keep families together."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Ukrainians mourn 31 killed in Russian strike on Kyiv
KYIV, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Ukrainian rescuers recovered more than a dozen more bodies from the rubble of a collapsed apartment block in Kyiv overnight, bringing the death toll from Russia's worst air strike of the year on Ukraine's capital to 31. A two-year-old was among the five children found dead after Thursday's sweeping Russian drone and missile attack, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday, announcing the end of a more than 24-hour-long rescue operation. A total of 159 people were wounded in the multi-wave strike, in which Russia launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles early on Thursday, the latest in a campaign of fierce strikes on Ukrainian towns and cities. The worst damage was to an apartment building that partially collapsed in the Sviatoshyn district in western Kyiv. Damage was also reported in at least three other districts of the capital. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday sharply criticised Russia's "disgusting" behaviour against Ukraine, while saying he was not sure whether sanctions would deter Russia. He has given President Vladimir Putin until August 8 to make a deal or else he will respond with economic pressure. Natalia Matviyenko, 65, sitting near the damaged apartment building, said she did not place much faith in Trump's tough rhetoric. "Trump just says, 'I'm upset with President Putin's behaviour.' And what? No results," she said. The U.S. leader, who returned to power on a pledge to swiftly end the war, has in recent weeks rolled back his earlier conciliatory approach toward Moscow and signalled openness to arming Ukraine. But a diplomatic effort to end the war has stalled, with Moscow not backing down from what Kyiv and its allies describe as maximalist demands. On Friday, mourners laid flowers and lit candles at the wrecked apartment block, where rumbling excavators hoisted heavy pieces of rubble. The makeshift shrine included brightly coloured stuffed animals. Oksana Kinal, 43, who was placing flowers to honour a co-worker who had been killed alongside a son, said she hoped Trump would follow up on his threat but also expressed doubt. "I think America has a lot of points of leverage that can be used against Russia," she said. "But will Putin listen to this? I don't know." Kyiv's air force said on Friday that Ukrainian air defences had destroyed more than 6,000 drones and missiles across the country in July alone. "The world possesses every instrument required to ensure Russia is brought to justice," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on X on Friday. "What is lacking is not power — but will."
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American History Museum, according to report
The Smithsonian National Museum of American History has erased all references to President Trump from an impeachment exhibit display. Orders to remove an impeachment reference to the commander-in-chief in the exhibit, 'A Glorious Burden', came as part of a recent content review, triggered by mounting pressure from the White House to make changes to the arts institution, according to a source familiar with The Washington Post. The president was impeached twice during his first term in office, the first due to being accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader to dig up damaging information on the Biden family. The second impeachment came after he was charged with "incitement of insurrection" regarding the deadly storming of Congress on January 6, 2021. In each case, he was acquitted on all counts by the Senate. In both votes, the Republican party held the majority. The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum complex, consisting of 21 museums, the National Portrait Gallery, and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. In May, Trump called for the firing of Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., labelling her a supporter of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and claiming she was unsuitable for the role. She resigned from her post just two weeks later, following the president's criticism on Truth Social. 'Her replacement will be named shortly. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Trump wrote. Sajet had led the gallery 'with passion and creativity' for 12 years, according to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch, who wrote the resignation memo. Trump's crackdown on the arts came in tandem with his March executive order that called for the removal of 'improper, divisive or anti-American ideology' from the network of Smithsonian museums, The Wall Street Journal reported. However, even prior to the order, the Smithsonian canceled its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs to comply with Trump's anti-DEI vision in January. The latest change sees the removal of a temporary label that described Trump's impeachment, notices that had been on display since September 2021. The museum has now placed a 2008 label on the exhibit, stating that 'only three presidents have seriously faced removal,' referring to Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Richard Nixon, according to The Post. Nixon would have faced impeachment had he not resigned. The Smithsonian released a statement after the report that said, 'a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.' 'In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the 'Limits of Presidential Power' section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed,' the spokesperson told The Post. They explained that the section of the exhibition covered Congress, the Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion, noting that the change was necessary because 'other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008.' The institution said it was appropriate to restore the impeachment case to its 2008 appearance. Trump's intervention in the arts space follows a string of incidents where he has sought to alter cultural institutions to align with MAGA values. In February, he usurped the position of chair of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. – a hub lauded for its bipartisan approach. 'NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA', he wrote on Truth Social at the time. , and Republicans have now proposed a bill to rename the center after Trump.
BreakingNews.ie
25 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Detail still lacking ‘but Ireland would be worse off without EU-US deal'
A swathe of tariffs imposed on other nations shows Ireland would be worse off if there was not an EU-US trade deal, the Tánaiste said. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that sees tariffs of 15 per cent or above imposed on trading partners including Brazil, Lesotho, Taiwan and Switzerland. Advertisement The EU struck a trade deal with the US five days before Mr Trump said a 30 per cent tariff would kick in for the bloc. The deal sees 15 per cent tariffs on most EU goods including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals entering the US. President Donald Trump signs an executive order. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP. There are 'zero for zero' tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals – as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars over three years. Simon Harris said on Friday after a meeting of the trade forum at Government Buildings that a lot of detail of the agreement still needs to be clarified as he defended the deal. Advertisement 'Without a deal between the US and the EU, today would have seen 30% tariffs introduced by President Trump on the EU, and would also have seen very, very significant counter measures introduced by the EU to the tune of around 90 odd billion euro,' the Tanaiste said. 'There's absolutely no doubt that that would have been a moment of catastrophe in terms of our economic wellbeing as a country.' He added: 'We'd be in a very different and a much worse position I think if we were standing here today with no deal. 'You don't have to take my word for that, if you just see the executive order last night and all of the tariffs levelled in other countries, including countries that didn't have deals. Advertisement 'They were generally much, much higher than the tariff rate for the European Union.' He said the EU tariff rate of 15% would come into effect from August 7th. Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would remain at zero until the US administration concludes its Section 232 investigation, relating to imported goods of importance to national security, into the sector. President Donald Trump and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP. Mr Harris said he was informed by Brussels that this is expected to conclude in around two weeks. Advertisement Mr Harris also said 'there is too many variables' to yet know the effect of the tariff differential between Northern Ireland and Ireland. He said he spoke with Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, and the Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald who agreed on this. 'So to give you an example, at the moment butter in Ireland already has a tariff of around 16 per cent on it, pre-existing. 'It's had 10 per cent on top of that since President Trump's last round, so that's meant butter in Ireland had a tariff of 26 per cent. Under the new EU deal, that will fall to 16%. Advertisement 'Butter in the UK, if I can use that as a comparison, will actually probably end up with 16%, plus 10%, so 26%. 'I'm just using a pound of butter as an example here, but if you look at it, you know, at a headline rate, you'd say 'Well, there'd be lower tariff on butter in the UK than Ireland', and actually that's probably not the case. 'So we need to tease our way through this. But there is no doubt that there will be challenges that will have to be worked through.' Business Tánaiste to hold talks with Northern leaders over... Read More He said: 'I suppose the last point I'd make is that this is a subset of businesses. It's really a subset of a subset, because this will obviously only affect businesses that are doing cross-border trade and exporting to the United States of America. So it's not to be in any way dismissive of that, but it will obviously only affect that proportion of the business community. 'Pharma is another example. I mean, the EU seems to have a commitment in writing to 15 per cent or less, no more than 15 per cent for pharma. 'The UK language is much more vague. It doesn't have a number beside it, so we'll need to see where that brings us in the weeks ahead.'
