ICE officials ‘threatened' over low deportation numbers
Immigration officers were 'eviscerated' for not deporting illegal migrants fast enough during a heated meeting with senior Trump administration officials in Washington.
Stephen Miller, the White House's deputy chief of staff and a key architect of Donald Trump's immigration policy, left 50 senior officers feeling their jobs were at risk, according to the Washington Examiner.
A string of officials described Mr Miller's fury.
'Miller came in there and eviscerated everyone. 'You guys aren't doing a good job. You're horrible leaders.' He just ripped into everybody. He had nothing positive to say about anybody, shot morale down,' said an official who spoke with those in the room during the meeting.
'Stephen Miller wants everybody arrested. 'Why aren't you at Home Depot? Why aren't you at 7-Eleven?''
There is growing tension that Mr Trump's mass deportations is not proceeding quickly enough.
He was elected on a promise to enact the biggest deportation operation in history and set a target of removing one million people each year.
However, with fewer migrants presenting themselves at the border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers face the more complicated prospect of identifying illegal immigrants already in the country.
Data released so far suggest the administration is on course to deport about half a million people this year, according to analysis by the Migration Policy Institute. That is fewer than the 685,000 deported by Joe Biden during his final year in office.
Against that background, dozens of top ICE officers were ordered to attend an emergency meeting in Washington DC, on May 20.
Axios reported that Mr Miller and Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, ordered them to adopt a target of arresting 3,000 people a day.
Insiders said the result was collapsing morale within ICE.
'They've been threatened, told they're watching their emails and texts and Signals,' the first official said. 'That's what is horrible about things right now. It's a fearful environment.'
An administration spokesmen said the reporting mischaracterised the meeting.
'Stephen Miller did not say many of the things you state,' said Laszlo Baksay, ICE deputy assistant director of media affairs.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
32 minutes ago
Migrants and ICE officers contend with heat, smog and illness after detoured South Sudan flight
WASHINGTON -- Migrants placed on a deportation flight originally bound for South Sudan are now being held in a converted shipping container on a U.S. naval base in Djibouti, where the men and their guards are contending with baking hot temperatures, smoke from nearby burn pits and the looming threat of rocket attacks, the Trump administration said. Officials outlined grim conditions in court documents filed Thursday before a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit challenging Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts to swiftly remove migrants to countries they didn't come from. Authorities landed the flight at the base in Djibouti, about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from South Sudan, more than two weeks ago after U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston found the Trump administration had violated his order by swiftly sending eight migrants from countries including Cuba and Vietnam to the east African nation. The judge said that men from other countries must have a real chance to raise fears about dangers they could face in South Sudan. The men's lawyers, though, have still not been able to talk to them, said Robyn Barnard, senior director of refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, whose stated mission is to ensure the United States is a global leader on human rights. Barnard spoke Friday at a hearing of Democratic members of Congress and said some family members of the men had been able to talk to them Thursday. The migrants have been previously convicted of serious crimes in the U.S., and President Donald Trump's administration has said that it was unable to return them quickly to their home countries. The Justice Department has also appealed to the Supreme Court to immediately intervene and allow swift deportations to third countries to resume. The case comes amid a sweeping immigration crackdown by the Republican administration, which has pledged to deport millions of people who are living in the United States illegally. The legal fight became another flashpoint as the administration rails against judges whose rulings have slowed the president's policies. The Trump administration said the converted conference room in the shipping container is the only viable place to house the men on the base in Djibouti, where outdoor daily temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), according to the declaration from an ICE official. Nearby burn pits are used to dispose of trash and human waste, and the smog cloud makes it hard to breathe, sickening both ICE officers guarding the men and the detainees, the documents state. They don't have access to all the medication they need to protect against infection, and the ICE officers were unable to complete anti-malarial treatment before landing, an ICE official said. 'It is unknown how long the medical supply will last,' Mellissa B. Harper, acting executive deputy associate director of enforcement and removal operations, said in the declaration. The group also lacks protective gear in case of a rocket attack from terrorist groups in Yemen, a risk outlined by the Department of Defense, the documents state. ___
Newsweek
35 minutes ago
- Newsweek
California Fourth Grader Detained By ICE Sparks Outrage
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A 9-year-old boy in California was detained by federal immigration agents at an immigration hearing. Martir Garcia Lara, a fourth-grader at Torrance Elementary School, was taken into custody along with his father on May 29 after reporting to federal authorities in downtown Los Angeles. They were transferred the next day to an immigration facility in Texas, where they are currently held pending deportation to Honduras. A spokesperson for ICE told Newsweek they remain in federal custody pending deportation to Honduras. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wait to detain a person, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers wait to detain a person, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. Alex Brandon/AP Why It Matters The arrest comes amid a hardline crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump's administration, which has vowed to deport millions of migrants without legal status. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has maintained under the second Trump administration that ICE does not arrest children. What To Know "Martir Garcia-Banegas, 50, illegally entered the United States July 10, 2021 with a family member, Martir Isaac Garcia Lara, 9," a spokesperson for ICE told Newsweek. On September 1, 2022, an immigration judge issued an order for the family to be removed to Honduras. Garcia appealed this decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals; however, the appeal was dismissed on August 11, 2023, according to ICE. After being detained by officials in Los Angeles, the father and son were transferred to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Dilley, Texas. The administration has taken an estimated 500 children into government custody since Trump returned to power, according to CNN. Courthouses nationwide have recently become focal points in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts. Federal agents have been stationed to arrest individuals immediately after they appear before immigration judges. Many of these individuals have been in the U.S. for less than two years, and attorneys from the Department of Homeland Security often request that their deportation cases be dismissed. When a judge approves such a request, immigrants leaving the courtroom are sometimes taken into custody by plainclothes federal agents for expedited removal. What People Are Saying A spokesperson for ICE told Newsweek: "Parents, who are here illegally, can take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering aliens $1,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right, legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return." A spokesperson with Torrance Unified School District said in a statement: "It is our responsibility as a District to support the families of every student and connect them to resources and assistance for their continued education and healthy wellbeing, if, and when, a family requests it." What Happens Next Martir and his father will remain detained at a facility in southern Texas pending removal.
CBS News
36 minutes ago
- CBS News
Immigration advocates call on ICE agents to stay out of Denver's courthouses
Immigration advocates call on ICE to stay out of courthouses in Denver Immigration advocates call on ICE to stay out of courthouses in Denver Immigration advocates call on ICE to stay out of courthouses in Denver Immigration advocates rallied outside U.S. District Court in Denver on Thursday, calling for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to stay out of Denver's courthouses. CBS Colorado has talked to advocates who learned that one family was detained by immigration agents after the family attended their scheduled immigration hearing. Immigration advocates rallied outside U.S. District Court in Denver. CBS Arresting people at courthouses is a new ICE tactic to detain and expedite the removal process for more migrants, amid the Trump Administration's latest quota to arrest over 3,000 migrants a day. Local immigration advocacy groups claim that at least eight people have been detained in the past week. Demonstrators said that those people who have been detained at the courthouse are following the rules of law and doing what they are supposed to do to stay in the U.S. Immigration advocates rallied outside U.S. District Court in Denver on Thursday. CBS "Now having people who are fighting all of the things, and doing all of the things, and paying all of the fees, and they are still being taken away," said Andrea Loya, Casa de Paz Executive Director. The Department of Homeland Security gave CBS Colorado a statement that reads in part, "Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals... ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been."
