Donald Trump to flood big cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago with ICE agents in ‘single largest Mass Deportation Program' in history

Sky News AU

6 hours ago

President Trump announced plans to flood Democrat-run cities, namely New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, with new, larger waves of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to bring about the 'single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.'
Trump highlighted the sweeping change targeting the majority-Democrat cities on Truth Social Sunday night as he praised ICE agents for their 'incredible strength, determination, and courage.'
'In order to achieve this, we must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America's largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,' Trump wrote.
'These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying Jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens.'
Republican-run states like Texas, which is home to five of the largest cities in America, including Houston and San Antonio, were notably left out of the president's post.
None of the Lone Star State's big urban centers, however, call themselves 'sanctuary cities.'
'These Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!' the commander in chief added in his post.
'And that is why I want ICE, Border Patrol, and our Great and Patriotic Law Enforcement Officers, to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities, and those places where Sanctuary Cities play such a big role. You don't hear about Sanctuary Cities in our Heartland!'
Trump previously pledged that 'changes are coming' last week after admitting that his administration's crackdown on immigration was massacring key American industries — namely farming and hospitality.
The Department of Agriculture estimates that nearly half of the 850,000 crop workers in the United States are undocumented, putting America's food supply chain at risk of total collapse if all are deported.
While New York State is home to the largest sanctuary city in the country, it ranks first nationally in the production of many crops and products, including household staples like yogurt and cottage cheese, according to the New York Farm Bureau.
With Trump's focus set on sanctuary cities, it is unclear how other parts of Democratic states may be impacted, or if ICE activity will primarily center on metropolitan areas going forward.
Even so, raids have already expanded beyond the fields with ICE agents turning up anywhere from courthouses to schools. The shift quickly scared many immigrant workers away from the public eye.
Data cited by the Wall Street Journal showed how immigrants' purchasing habits dramatically shifted online. Large brands also saw a steep decrease in Hispanic customer traffic, with places that have fallen victim to raids like Home Depot seeing an 8.7% drop.
Originally published as Donald Trump to flood big cities like Los Angeles, New York and Chicago with ICE agents in 'single largest Mass Deportation Program' in history