Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested more than 7,400 people in nine days across several states amid its aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration since the new Trump administration came into office. 

ICE officers have been seen carrying out raids of homes, work sites, and other establishments, while deportations have also ramped up, with the Trump administration also vowing to send the most violent migrants to Guantánamo Bay.

According to a compilation of daily totals of arrests, as of Jan. 31, ICE has so far arrested 7,412 people who the agency says are in the country illegally. The agency says that nearly 6,000 ICE detainers have been placed on individuals.

NYC RESIDENTS PRAISE ICE RAIDS AFTER VIOLENT GANG MEMBER CAPTURED

ICE has posted nine daily arrest totals to X and has also posted details from various raids across sanctuary cities like New York City, Chicago and Boston where they have scooped up illegals accused of sex crimes against minors, rapes, guns and drug offenses, while violent gang members belonging to Tren de Aragua and MS-13 have also been taken off the streets. 

Border czar Tom Homan has said the administration is currently only targeting violent illegal aliens while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE, says federal immigration authorities are arresting the "worst of the worst" in raids. She says the streets are now safer as a result.

Many of the ICE raids have been carried out alongside other federal agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Noem joined an immigration enforcement raid in New York City Tuesday morning in which officers picked up Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco, 26, an alleged ringleader of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. Zambrano-Pacheco is the same man caught on camera in a viral video showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, last summer.

Luis Adolfo Guerra Perez, 19, a Guatemalan citizen and MS-13 gang member, was arrested by ICE in Massachusetts last week. He was facing state gun charges and had previously been ordered to be deported before he was released by a Boston court.

ICE has published details of more than 60 cases while the White House X account has posted details of at least 20 others.

NOEM SAYS 'WORST OF THE WORST' ARRESTED IN NYC RAID TARGETING CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

However, for the vast majority of the 7,412, details on their criminal histories are not yet available.

The arrests total come as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed that the "worst of the worst" criminal migrants will be temporarily housed at Guantánamo Bay detention camp and that "all options will be on the table" for military action against the cartels.

Hegseth made the announcement in an interview with "Fox and Friends" on Friday and it came on the heels of an announcement made by President Donald Trump on Wednesday that he will be instructing the Pentagon to prepare Guantánamo Bay to detain 30,000 "criminal illegal aliens."

"Today I'm also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantánamo Bay," Trump said. "Most people don't even know about it."

It was later learned that Trump signed a presidential memorandum, not an executive order, on the matter.

News of the arrests has been generally well-received by locals living in these areas. 

Ramses Frías, a local Queens activist who’s voiced concerns over a crime crisis gripping his neighborhood, which is partially represented by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the raids have also been warmly received by the community.

"Many residents, from immigrants to citizens, welcome ICE coming in and taking the criminals out of these communities," Frías, a city council candidate, told Fox News Digital. "They welcome law and order and want safe streets."

However, not everyone agreed with the raids and Mayor Brandon Johnson recently "reaffirmed" his commitment to keep Chicago a sanctuary city, as did Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. 

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, grilled President Donald Trump's DNI nominee Tulsi Gabbard over her previous remarks praising whistleblower Edward Snowden. 

"Until you are nominated by the president to be the DNI, you consistently praised the actions of Edward Snowden, someone, I believe, jeopardized the security of our nation and then, to flaunt that, fled to Russia," Warner asked of Gabbard on Thursday morning. 

"You even called Edward Snowden and I quote here, ‘a brave whistleblower.’ Every member of this committee supports the rights of legal whistleblowers. But Edward Snowden isn't a whistleblower, and in this case, I'm a lot closer to the chairman's words where he said Snowden is, quote, ‘an egotistical serial liar and traitor' who, quote, ‘deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life.’ Ms. Gabbard is simple, yes or no question. Do you still think Edward Snowden is brave?"

'WARRIOR WHOSE VOTE CANNOT BE BOUGHT': HUNDREDS OF VETS POUR OUT IN SUPPORT OF TULSI GABBARD FOR DNI

Gabbard pushed back that Snowden "broke the law" and does not agree with his leak of intelligence.

TRUMP APPOINTS TULSI GABBARD AS DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: ‘FEARLESS SPIRIT’

"Mr. Vice Chairman, Edward Snowden broke the law. I do not agree with or support with all of the information and intelligence that he released, nor the way in which he did it. There would have been opportunities for him to come to you on this committee, or seek out the IG to release that information. The fact is, he also, even as he broke the law, released information that exposed egregious, illegal and unconstitutional programs that are happening within our government," Gabbard responded. 

In 2013, Snowden was working as an IT contractor for the National Security Agency when he traveled to Hong Kong to meet with three journalists and transferred to them thousands of pages of classified documents about the U.S. government’s surveillance of its citizens. 

"I'm making myself very clear. Edward Snowden broke the law. He released information about the United States government," Gabbard continued as she defended her position. 

"If I may just finish my thoughts, Senator," Gabbard continued, as Warner spoke over her. "In this role that I've been nominated for, if confirmed as director of national intelligence, I will be responsible for protecting our nation's secrets. And I have four immediate steps that I would take to prevent another Snowden-like leak."

Gabbard has previously lauded Snowden, including during an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast in 2019. 

DEMOCRATS TRASH TULSI GABBARD AFTER TRUMP TAPS HER FOR DNI POST

"If it wasn’t for Snowden, the American people would never have learned the NSA was collecting phone records and spying on Americans," she said on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast at the time.

Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday morning as part of her confirmation process to serve as the second Trump administration's director of national intelligence. 

Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this report. 

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website is no longer accepting forms needed to sponsor migrants as part of the Biden administration's defunct parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV).

The 2023 program, which allowed certain migrants to apply for U.S. entry and stay for up to two years, was shut down on President Donald Trump's first day in office.

As of August 2024, nearly 530,000 people were granted parole through the program, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

Requirements included having a U.S.-based supporter, passing security vetting, and meeting other criteria. 

The "Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support" form, an avenue to meet one of the main requirements, was bumped from the website, as of Wednesday night.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently removed expedited removal restrictions and allowed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to review migrants' parole status – which may include changing it.

TRUMP'S ICE NABS CHILD SEX OFFENDERS AMONG 530+ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT IN SINGLE DAY

A memo obtained by Fox News Digital noted parole is a "positive exercise of enforcement discretion to which no alien is entitled" and that it should "not be regarded as an admission of the alien," according to previous reporting.

While the Biden administration claimed the program would expand legal pathways to citizenship and decrease illegal border crossings, Republicans contended it was an abuse of limited parole power.

Prior to Trump's reelection, the program was temporarily paused amid fraud claims. 

An internal review was ordered, leading to the DHS adding enhanced vetting measures for U.S.-based supporters in August 2024.

ICE and CBP officials have been tasked with compiling a list of instructions, policies and procedures related to parole, reviewing them, and creating a plan to phase out any that are not in accord with the statute.

Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed to this story.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Wednesday the department has stopped all grant funding to nonprofits that operate outside of government control, saying they have been "perverted into a shadow government" that feeds illegal immigration.

Noem said some non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which receive millions in federal grants, have been facilitating illegal immigration by helping aliens cross the U.S. border.

"Many of these NGOs actually have infrastructure and operations set up in Mexico, on that side of the border, and are telling those illegal immigrants to come to them, and they will get them across the border," Noem said on Fox News Channel's Will Cain Show. "So they're not just operating in the United States, they're operating outside the United States to help make it easier for those who want to break our laws."

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS 969 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS IN ONE DAY: ‘HERE ARE SOME OF THE WORST’

The first step to curbing the issue is to freeze the funds, reevaluate them, and make sure taxpayer dollars are going toward safe causes, she said.

"I think people are curious [to see how] grants that are given out by federal agencies [are] utilized," Noem said. 

Until an evaluation is completed, Noem said the department is "not spending another dime to help the destruction of this country."

She added not all NGOs are what they appear to be, and some could be a risk to national security.

"When somebody said NGO to me, I thought that [was] a nonprofit telling somebody about Jesus or spreading faith and salvation…," Noem said. "Then I realized over the years, it's been perverted into this shadow government."

Noem explained that NGOs create an entity to use taxpayer dollars, funding an operation the federal government cannot legally implement itself.

TRUMP-ERA SOUTHERN BORDER SEES MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS PLUMMET BY OVER 60% AS NEW POLICIES KICK IN

Recently, she said they have been used to undermine the country's national security. 

Approximately 1.5 million NGOs operate in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of State.

NGOs can range from political advocacy groups, to religious volunteer organizations or labor unions.

There are no laws prohibiting foreign funding of NGOs, whether that be from other governments or non-government sources, according to the State Department.

In 2024, the U.S. spent more than $380 million on sheltering and service programs for illegal immigrants.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday announced that her agency had canceled a Biden-era extension of deportation protections for Venezuelan migrants — accusing her predecessor of tying the hands of the Trump administration.

In a notice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has vacated a Jan. 10 decision by then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to extend a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation to Venezuelan nationals by 18 months.

"Before he left town, Mayorkas signed an order that said for 18 months they were going to extend this protection to people that are in Temporary Protected Status, which meant they were going to be able to stay here and violate our laws for another 18 months," Noem said, announcing the move on "FOX and Friends." "And we stopped that today."

MAYORKAS EXTENDS DEPORTATION SHIELD FOR EYE-POPPING NUMBER OF IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF TRUMP ADMIN

TPS grants protection from deportation and allows work permits for nationals living in the U.S. from countries deemed unsafe for them to be returned. Mayorkas announced extensions for TPS for Venezuela, as well as El Salvador, Sudan and Ukraine for an additional 18 months.

Venezuela's extension applied to approximately 600,000 nationals already covered by TPS, but would not allow new applications. The extension would have further complicated the Trump administration’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants from Venezuela, which has been a focus given the rise of Tren de Aragua (TDA), a bloodthirsty street gang from Venezuela.

TRUMP-ERA SOUTHERN BORDER SEES MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS PLUMMET BY OVER 60% AS NEW POLICIES KICK IN

"We signed an executive order within the Department of Homeland Security in a direction that we were not going to follow through on what [Mayorkas] did to tie our hands, that we are going to follow the process, evaluate all of these individuals that are in our country, including the Venezuelans that are here and members of TDA," she said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The announcement came a day after Noem oversaw an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in New York City, where officers have been targeting criminal illegal immigrants. That operation is part of a broader nationwide effort to deport illegal immigrants throughout the U.S. DHS has made a flurry of moves to empower ICE officers, including taking Biden-era limits off expedited removal powers and canceling the use of parole. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, signed a slew of executive orders concerning border security and illegal immigration.

"Listen, I was in New York City yesterday, and the people of this country want these dirtbags out. They want their communities to be safe. It was so amazing to me to see people walk by us on the street early in the morning and just say, ‘Thank you. Thank you for being here,’" Noem said. "So this is part of our plan to make sure that we're protecting America, keeping it safe again, just like President Trump promised."

Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Immigration Services employees will no longer be able to process applications that contain an "X’ marker for gender.

A letter to DHS field operations and USCIS employees obtained by Fox News Digital advises officials to "not make a final decision on any application that would produce a document with an "X" marker, citing President Donald Trump’s January 20 executive order that "prohibits using the ‘X’ marker on our documentation and in our systems."

"This is consistent with President Trump’s executive order that the U.S. recognizes two sexes, male and female," DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. "This is common sense."

TRUMP FIRES TWO DEMOCRATIC COMMISSIONERS ON CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AS WHITE HOUSE TARGETS DEI

The letter comes after Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office aimed at shifting the language used by the federal government in documentation, including a move to replace the term "gender" with "sex" on official documents.

"The erasure of sex in language and policy has a corrosive impact not just on women but on the validity of the entire American system. Basing Federal policy on truth is critical to scientific inquiry, public safety, morale, and trust in government itself," the order signed by Trump states.

STATE DEPT PULLS MILLIONS IN FUNDING FOR ‘CONDOMS IN GAZA,’ AS TRUMP ADMIN LOOKS TO TRIM SPENDING

The move also reverses changes made during the Biden administration, including giving Americans who do not identify with either of the two biological sexes the option to mark documents such as passports with an "X" instead of "male" or "female."

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But Trump’s order calls for all federal agencies to ensure that all documents "accurately reflect the holder’s sex," which the order defines as "an individual’s immutable biological classification."

Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago public school officials falsely claimed last week that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived at an elementary school, as President Donald Trump’s administration continues enforcement operations targeting violent illegal immigrant offenders in the sanctuary city. 

ICE said its agents never arrived at Hamline Elementary School, located in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood, and the U.S. Secret Service released a statement saying it was their agents who stopped by on Friday to investigate a threat made against an unspecified government official. Chicago Public Schools later admitted their mistake, citing a "misunderstanding," but affirmed that the school system will not coordinate with federal immigration authorities.

In front of local news cameras on Friday, Chicago Public Schools Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova told reporters that earlier that morning ICE agents "showed up" at Hamline, but "school staff followed CPS established protocols." 

"They kept ICE agents outside of the school and contacted CPS’s Law Department and CPS’s Office of Safety and Security for further guidance," Chkoumbova said. "The ICE agents were not allowed into the school and were not permitted to speak to any students or staff members. Here is the bottom line: Our students and staff are safe…. We will not coordinate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents." 

TRUMP OFFICIALS GIVE ICE GOAL ON NUMBER OF ARRESTS PER DAY: REPORT

"We will not open our doors for ICE, and we are here to protect our children and make sure they have access to an excellent education," Hamline Principal Natasha Ortega said at the same press conference, according to video published by WMAQ-TV. "We stand in solidarity with our families and the Back of the Yards community." 

The governor chimed in on X. 

"After a week of Republicans sowing fear and chaos, the first reports of raids in Chicago are at an elementary school," Pritzker wrote Friday, sharing a ChalkBeat.org report. "Targeting children and separating families is cruel and un-American." 

The post was slapped with a Community Note, reading: "This was not ICE but the U.S. Secret Service visiting the school due to an unspecified threat." 

There has not been an update posted on the governor’s X account, and Fox News Digital reached out to Pritzker’s team for comment on Monday, but they did not immediately respond. 

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson released a statement of his own on X, correcting the record and chastising officials who amplified unverified claims.

"Chicago will always be a welcoming city, and we will always uphold the welcoming city ordinance, and we will always protect our students and every resident of our city," Johnson, a Democrat, wrote. "Today Secret Service agents, not ICE, were present at John H. Hamline Elementary School. While people across the city are worried about heightened immigration enforcement, it is imperative that individuals not spread unverified information that sparks fear across the city." 

Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez initially repeated the dubious allegations on Friday. During an appearance on MSNBC, he said "individuals" came to Hamline "and presented credentials and shared that they were from ICE." 

"Our staff followed the protocols. We’re very clear," Martinez said. "We've been training our principals, our security guards, any front office staff… making sure that they know that we are not to share any information with anybody from the immigration department or ICE. Unless they have a judicial order, they’re not even allowed to enter the building." 

DEA BUSTS DRUG TRAFFICKERS IN MAKESHIFT NIGHTCLUB, TAKES 50 ILLEGAL ALIENS INTO CUSTODY

ICE said it was not involved in the encounter. In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, revealed that special agents from the Chicago field office on Friday had been "investigating a threat made against a government official we protect."  

"In the course of their investigation, agents first visited a residence in a local neighborhood and then made a visit to Hamline Elementary School," Guglielmi said. "Agents identified themselves to the school principal and provided business cards with their contact information. The agents left without incident. The Secret Service investigates all threats made against those we protect. We do not investigate nor enforce immigration laws."   

Chicago Public Schools officials walked back their earlier claims on Saturday. 

In a message addressed to families, Martinez and Chkoumbova said, "Agents presented school staff with credentials from the Department of Homeland Security, the federal department that oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)." 

"We later learned that these officials were not from ICE, but rather from the U.S. Secret Service – a different federal law enforcement agency also overseen by the Department of Homeland Security," the statement said. "While this incident was due to a misunderstanding, it reflects the fear and anxiety that is present in our city right now, and it reflects the degree of caution that we are taking given recent federal policy changes." 

The school officials also decried DHS’s decision last week to rescind a directive that had prevented ICE from carrying out immigration enforcement at sensitive locations such as churches, schools and doctor’s offices. 

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, who has been overseeing ICE raids in Chicago and across the country as part of the president’s mass deportation strategy, defended the reversal during an appearance on ABC News on Sunday. Homan said many MS-13 gang members are often around age 14 and well-trained ICE agents should have the discretion to weed out public safety and national security threats.

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"Earlier this week, the new presidential administration rescinded a longtime policy that protected sensitive locations like schools from being targeted by ICE for immigration enforcement. As a result, our school administrators have been on high alert to protect their school communities," Martinez and Chkoumbova said Saturday. "Despite yesterday’s misunderstanding, the school’s response demonstrates that our school system, in partnership with community organizations and our labor partners, is prepared and ready to keep our students and staff safe." 

FIRST ON FOX: A top conservative group is offering a roadmap as to how President Donald Trump can effectively deploy the military to secure the southern border, arguing that there is a "substantial historic precedent" for such a use.

"A broad and diverse set of options and legal authorities are available to the second Trump Administration for using the resources and capacities of the U.S. military to ensure the integrity of the border with Mexico," the Heritage Foundation report, obtained first by Fox News Digital, says. "Additionally, there is substantial historical precedent for an active U.S. military role in border security and managing migration crises."

The report, "How the President Can Use the U.S. Military to Confront the Catastrophic Threat at the Border with Mexico," argues that an "unchecked growth" of Mexican cartels, as well as illegal immigration and narcotics have "deepended and accelerated," posing a destabilizing threat to the U.S.

TRUMP DHS MAKES KEY MOVE AGAINST MIGRANTS ALLOWED IN VIA CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN PAROLE PROGRAMS

Simultaneously, it argues that there has been a "rapid deterioration" in U.S.-Mexico security cooperation and Mexico’s own anti-cartel operations.

It is a view shared by the new Trump administration. Trump issued an executive order on day one to deploy the military to the border as part of a slew of broader efforts to secure the southern border and crack down on illegal immigration.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

Authors Robert Greenway, Andres Martinez-Fernandez and Wilson Beaver argue for a number of follow-up measures to confront the threat of the cartels and what they see as a "reluctant" Mexican government.

"The first steps on this front should consist of measures, such as substantial bolstering of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border security capacities, increasing restrictions on formal and informal border crossings, ramping up U.S. law enforcement efforts, targeting illicit financial flows tied to the cartels, and sanctioning corrupt Mexican officials," they wrote.

The report stressed the need for appropriate funding from Congress and planning from agencies in order to prevent impacting other missions. It highlighted the potential for military equipment for immigration purposes, including deportation.

"When it comes to large-scale illegal-alien detention and deportation, some of the underused but most impactful resources include U.S. military transport vehicles and facilities around the world which could support detention and repatriation of illegal aliens, including to higher-risk and extra-hemispheric countries of origin," it says.

As for direct military action against cartels, the authors say that it should be a "last resort," with joint military action with Mexican coordination being the ideal condition.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

"However, in the appropriate context, unilateral U.S. military action may be employed to disrupt cartel activity and prompt cooperation from a resistant Mexican government," it says.

It argues that Mexico is unlikely to change its stance with the election of President Claudia Sheinbaum, even in response to what the authors argue is a dramatically escalating threat from the cartels.

"Today, drug cartels are the fifth-largest employer in Mexico, with between 160,000 and 185,000 members," they wrote. "Cartels are also equipped with military-level weaponry, including anti-aircraft weapons and armored vehicles, while increasingly employing advanced technologies, such as drones and signal jamming systems."

The report also touts other uses for the military, including aiding border wall construction, helping supplement an overstretched Border Patrol, and the use of intelligence and surveillance methods to detect cross-border activity, as well as migrant detention at U.S. military facilities.

The report comes after a flurry of activity from the administration, including the deployment of the military to the border, to tackle the border threat and limit illegal immigration.

Troops began arriving in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego on Thursday evening, providing 1,000 U.S. Army personnel and 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California.

"This represents a 60% increase in active-duty ground forces since President Trump was sworn-in Monday," then-acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement late Wednesday.

There are already 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border. 

Fox News’ Christina Shaw contributed to this report.

Federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and their partners conducted nationwide roundups of more than 1,200 illegal immigrants over the weekend who were charged or convicted with committing crimes on American soil.

In a series of photos shared by ICE Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) from coast to coast, agents can be seen taking handcuffed suspects away.

In Atlanta, which is more than 1,000 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border but became a lightning rod in the immigration debate after an illegal immigrant brutally murdered a jogging college student in broad daylight, ERO teamed up with the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Homeland Security Investigations to grab "criminal aliens" off the streets and prepare them for deportation flights.

COLOMBIAN LEADER QUICKLY CAVES AFTER TRUMP THREATS, OFFERS PRESIDENTIAL PLANE FOR DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

Miami-based federal agents arrested at least four illegal immigrants accused of committing crimes on U.S. soil over the weekend, including a Nicaraguan jailed in Broward County for an alleged shooting.

Up north, a joint operation including ICE, the FBI, ATF, DEA, Border Patrol and U.S. Marshals was underway in Chicago, a struggling blue city where Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson has vowed to "protect" illegals from enforcement operations.

The "enhanced targeted operations" in the Windy City were designed to "enforce U.S. immigration law and preserve public safety and national security by keeping potentially dangerous criminal aliens out of our communities," ICE said in a statement.

Boston ERO announced the arrest of a Haitian man with 17 criminal convictions in Massachusetts, suspected gang member Wisteguens Charles.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

"Mr. Charles is illegally present in the United States and has consistently broken our laws, causing significant harm to the residents of Massachusetts," Patricia Hyde, the acting director of the Boston Field Office, said in a statement. "ERO Boston will not tolerate the repeated victimization of our New England neighborhoods. We will continue our mission to apprehend such illegal alien offenders and remove them from our communities."

Charles, 25, first entered the U.S. illegally in 2013 and between 2022 and 2024, he racked up 17 criminal convictions. ICE filed an immigration detainer request in 2023, but a Massachusetts jail ignored it and released him back into the community, authorities said. 

The arrests come as part of what ICE said would be an operation targeting "known criminal aliens who threaten national security or public safety."

President Donald Trump campaigned heavily on border security after his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, appeared ineffective or unwilling to stop an influx of illegal immigration for years. 

By the time he finally acknowledged the issue, a wave of high-profile migrant crimes had shocked the country and shattered victims’ families. The parents of some of those murdered American women and girls went to Capitol Hill to lobby for the Laken Riley Act, the first bill Congress sent to Trump after his return to the White House.

HECKLERS SHOUT DOWN ATHENS MAYOR AS HE DENIES SANCTUARY CITY, ANNOUNCES PUBLIC SAFETY FUNDS

Riley, a 21-year-old Georgia nursing student, was brutally killed at random while jogging in Athens, about 75 miles east of Atlanta, by a Venezuelan illegal with suspected ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. 

Jose Ibarra, 26, was convicted of 10 counts in November and sentenced to life without parole. He had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and received border parole, freeing him to travel within the country.

He racked up criminal charges in New York City, where authorities released him before ICE could lodge a detainer. He then made his way to Georgia, where he attacked and murdered Riley.  

"Removing criminal aliens from our communities isn’t just enforcement — it’s protection," HSI's Atlanta office said in a statement over the weekend as part of the deportation sweep. "Ensuring the safety and security of our neighborhoods starts with upholding the law."

Fox News' Heather Lacy contributed to this report.

The Senate on Saturday voted to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, making her the fourth of President Donald Trump’s nominees to win approval from the chamber.

The vote was 59–34, with all Republicans present voting yes and seven Democrats voting yes. Noem had been expected to be confirmed comfortably, having faced no significant issues during her confirmation hearing. Her nomination advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee by a vote of 13–2. Only two Democrats voted against her there. 

Noem becomes the fourth of President Donald Trump's picks to be confirmed, behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. 

KRISTI NOEM BEATS SENATE CONFIRMATION HURDLE, ADVANCING TO FINAL VOTE FOR DHS ROLE

Noem will lead the department at a time when securing the border and tackling illegal immigration are top priorities for the new administration. The administration has taken a number of actions to secure the border, including deploying the military, restarting wall construction and ending Biden-era parole programs. 

Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been launching deportation operations throughout the country to fulfill Trump’s promise of a "historic" operation.

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a slew of memos since Trump's inauguration, ordering reviews of parole and expanding the ability of officials to quickly deport illegal immigrants from the U.S. who have recently arrived. Those memos have been signed by Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman. 

TRUMP DHS PICK NOEM PLEDGES TO END CONTROVERSIAL APP USED BY MIGRANTS ON ‘DAY ONE’ 

At her confirmation hearing, Noem pointed to other parts of the Homeland Security mission, including cybersecurity, disaster relief and counterterrorism. 

"We must be vigilant and proactive and innovative to protect the homeland," she said. "The challenges in front of us are extremely significant, and we must secure our borders against illegal trafficking and immigration. We must safeguard our critical infrastructure to make sure that we're protected against cyber attacks, respond to natural disasters and also terrorism."

However, she emphasized that border security is a "top priority."

"As a nation, we have the right and the responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm. And we must create a fair and lawful immigration system that is efficient and is effective, and that reflects our values," she said. 

As governor, she pledged in 2021 not to take any more migrants from the Biden administration and also deployed the National Guard to the border in Texas. She also had experience with disaster response, working with federal officials to tackle floods that hit the state in June.

At her hearing, Noem was also asked about how she would work with border czar Tom Homan, who has been tapped to lead the deportation effort and secure the border.

Noem responded by saying that she and Homan "work very well together and talk and communicate all the time. And we'll be working together on a daily basis when we're in our positions under the new administration. And I would say there's no authority being planned to be taken away from the department or myself if I'm in the role."

Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

The Senate will hold votes over the weekend to accelerate the confirmation of one of President Donald Trump's key Cabinet nominees.

Lawmakers will meet for a rare Saturday session to hold a vote on whether to confirm South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump's pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security, to the top Cabinet position. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., indicated earlier in the week that the Senate would stay over the weekend to push through the confirmation process if Democrats blocked voting efforts.

"Do we want a vote on these folks on Tuesday or vote on them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Because that's what we're going to do," Thune said after Democrats blocked a confirmation vote for Trump's CIA director nominee, John Ratcliffe, who has bipartisan support. "This can be easy or this can be hard."  

SCHUMER SUPPORTS DEMOCRATS DELAYING ALL TRUMP NOMINEES WHO LACK UNANIMOUS SUPPORT

"This is about America's national security interests, and we're stalling, so that's not going to happen," Thune said.

Noem was questioned by lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during her confirmation hearing earlier in the week.  

CONFIRMATION DELAYS STACK UP FOR TRUMP NOMINEES AS PAPERWORK LAGS IN FEDERAL OFFICES

The Department of Homeland Security deals with national security and immigration issues, making Noem's confirmation top of mind for Trump as he makes the crisis at the southern border a priority during his second term.

Several of Trump's nominees remain unconfirmed after the 47th president's first week in office. But Thune promised while speaking on the Senate floor on Friday that he "will continue to ensure that the Senate works as quickly as possible to get President Trump's team in place."

Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

The nomination of Gov. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., to be the next Homeland Security secretary defeated a key hurdle in the confirmation process on Friday night, advancing to a final vote on Saturday. 

Her confirmation vote is expected to take place at 11:30 a.m. 

PETE HEGSETH CONFIRMED TO LEAD PENTAGON AFTER VP VANCE CASTS TIE-BREAKING VOTE

If confirmed, Noem will become the fourth of President Donald Trump's picks to be advanced out of the Senate, behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and incoming Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. 

Votes that are expected soon after Noem's are those for Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent, followed by Transportation Secretary pick Sean Duffy. 

MODERATE REPUBLICAN MURKOWSKI WON'T BACK TRUMP PICK HEGSETH FOR DEFENSE SECRETARY

The South Dakota governor is expected to receive bipartisan support for her confirmation to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Her nomination advanced out of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) by a vote of 13-2. Only two Democrats voted against her. 

TIM SCOTT EMPHASIZES 'RESULTS' OVER RECONCILIATION PROCESS AS HE STAYS OUT OF DEBATE

"I was the first Governor to send National Guard troops to Texas when they were being overwhelmed by an unprecedented border crisis," Noem told the committee during her confirmation hearing last week. 

"If confirmed as Secretary, I will ensure that our exceptional, extraordinary border patrol agents have all the tools and resources and support they need to carry out their mission effectively."

They need more planes.

The Trump administration began its promised deportations of illegal immigrants this week, but senior Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller said Friday that more aircraft are needed to speed up the process. 

Miller told reporters that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had been hampered in its ability to deport illegal migrants because of a lack of aircraft and the administration is trying to secure enough planes from half a dozen sources, per Bloomberg.

ICE raids took place as early as Tuesday and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt released photos of people boarding C-17s on Friday morning, announcing that "deportation flights had begun,". One of the photos was taken at Biggs Army Airfield at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, U.S. and it was one of two flights that had departed for Guatemala on Thursday at 5 p.m. local time.

MEXICO DENIES ACCESS TO LAND FOR US DEPORTATION FLIGHT AFTER MISCOMMUNICATION, STATE DEPT. OFFICIAL SAYS

Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News the plane in the image had 80 people. A third flight, bound for Mexico, never took off after Mexico declined to consent to the landing, a State Department official told Fox News.

But on Friday Miller suggested the administration was looking to scale up the operations and was looking into sourcing aircraft including from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to do so.

"You have obviously DHS air assets, you have DOD air assets, you have State Department air assets, you have commercial air assets, you have charter air assets, so every asset that can be used to conduct a lawful deportation," Miller said, per Bloomberg. 

"Border czar" Tom Homan told ABC News on Friday that the administration will use military aircraft every day to help carry out the operation.

Around 2,000 illegal immigrants were deported to Mexico on Thursday, both on the ground and in the air. In addition, Mexico detained roughly 5,000 migrants within its borders, Fox News reported.

When asked about the need for more aircraft, Leavitt said that the Trump administration is using both military and non-military aircrafts to accomplish this mission.

UP TO 250,000 CHILDREN BORN TO ILLEGAL MIGRANTS IN 2023: PRELIMINARY REPORT

"In one week, the Trump Administration has already facilitated a record number of illegal migrant deportation flights, and the Administration is using both military and non-military aircraft to accomplish this mission," Leavitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"Joe Biden allowed tens of millions of illegal criminals into the country, and in order to detain and deport as many as possible, Congress must past a reconciliation bill that includes funding for border enforcement, detention centers, and deportation efforts."

The administration has taken a number of actions to secure the border, including deploying the military, restarting wall construction and ending Biden-era parole programs. 

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a slew of memos since President Donald Trump's inauguration, ordering reviews of parole and expanding the ability of officials to quickly deport illegal immigrants from the U.S. who have recently arrived. Those memos have been signed by Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman. 

Meanwhile, Miller also said that the administration would use various tools to remove those granted humanitarian parole to enter the country when they otherwise wouldn’t have permission. 

"There’s digital footprints, there’s financial footprints, there’s routine law enforcement intelligence," he said. "There’s a wide array of tools we have to identify and remove those individuals."

According to Bloomberg, former President Joe Biden declined to use military aircraft. His administration often used commercial aircraft to deport migrants. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to review the parole status of migrants who were brought in under a dramatic expansion of humanitarian parole by the Biden administration, opening the door for their quick removal from the country.

In an internal memo signed Thursday, and obtained by Fox News Digital, acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman noted moves he made this week to take limits off expedited removal, which allows for the rapid removal of recently-arrived migrants if they do not claim asylum or fail to meet an initial standard. The power can now be used anywhere in the U.S. for migrants in the U.S. for less than two years.

The new memo says that with those expanded powers, any immigrant whom DHS knows who could be put on expedited removal, but has not, should have their case reviewed and "consider, in exercising your enforcement discretion, whether to apply expedited removal." The memo was first reported by The New York Times.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW
 

"This may include steps to terminate any ongoing removal proceeding and/or any active parole status," it says.

It also says that for any immigrant who has been granted parole under a policy paused, modified or terminated by the Trump administration, officers can decide whether they should be placed in removal proceedings and "review the alien’s parole status to determine, in exercising your enforcement discretion, whether parole remains appropriate in light of any changed legal or factual status."

TRUMP'S ICE NABS CHILD SEX OFFENDERS AMONG 530+ ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT IN SINGLE DAY

The memo also notes that parole is a "positive exercise of enforcement discretion to which no alien is entitled and that parole ‘shall not be regarded as an admission of the alien.’"

This would mean that migrants who were granted parole at ports of entry after making an appointment via the CBP One app, or who were given travel authorization to be paroled under the parole processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV), could be eligible for removal. The administration also launched parole programs for nationals from Ukraine and Afghanistan.

Nearly 1.5 million migrants were allowed in under CBP One and CHNV, and both parole channels were closed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office. The Biden administration said the expanded "lawful pathways" were part of an effort to reduce illegal crossings, but Republicans accused the administration of abusing limited parole power and allowing in migrants who should not legally have entered.

Huffman’s memo follows a memo from earlier this week in which he ordered a review of the use of parole. The memo notes that the statute demands the authority be used on a "case by case basis," something that Republican critics claim the administration has abused. It emphasizes that parole is "a limited use authority, applicable only in a very narrow set of circumstances."

It also claims that "it has been repeatedly abused by the Executive Branch over the past several decades in ways that are blatantly inconsistent with the statute."

"Most important, the parole statute does not authorize categorical parole programs that make aliens presumptively eligible on the basis of some set of broadly applicable criteria," it says.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The memo directs the heads of (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection to compile a list of instructions, policies and procedures related to parole, review them and formulate a plan to phase out any that are not in accord with the statute.

The latest memo comes amid a flurry of moves by the administration on illegal immigration and immigration, including moves to send military to the border, end refugee resettlement, build the border wall and launch a massive deportation operation. 

ICE on Thursday arrested more than 530 illegal immigrants in another day of raids across the U.S. Agents have focused on public safety threats, but officials have said that no-one is off the table if they are in the country illegally.

A New Jersey mayor and other leading Democrats have blasted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on a worksite which they say resulted in undocumented residents as well as a U.S. citizen being "detained."

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka slammed the operation as an "egregious act" and a violation of the Fourth Amendment after agents reportedly swooped in to raid a business establishment "without producing a warrant."

Baraka said that one of those detained is a U.S. military veteran who "suffered the indignity of having the legitimacy of his military documentation questioned." 

TRUMP BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN REVEALS ICE TEAMS ARE ALREADY ARRESTING ‘PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS’

"This egregious act is in plain violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees ‘the right of the people be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures….’" Baraka wrote in a statement.

"Newark will not stand by idly while people are being unlawfully terrorized," Barak said, adding that he is "ready and willing to defend and protect civil and human rights."

It is not clear if the U.S. citizen in the Newark case was taken into custody, with an ICE spokesperson telling Fox News that the U.S. citizen was asked to produce identification. 

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may encounter U.S. citizens while conducting field work and may request identification to establish an individual’s identity as was the case during a targeted enforcement operation at a worksite today in Newark, New Jersey," an ICE spokesperson told Fox News in relation to Thursday’s Newark operation. "This is an active investigation, and, per ICE policy, we cannot discuss ongoing investigations."

ICE raids have ramped up across the country this week as President Donald Trump looks to clamp down on illegal immigration, a key campaign promise. Trump’s "border czar" Tom Homan has said ICE agents will focus on the "worst first, public safety threats first, but no one is off the table. If they're in the country illegally, they got a problem."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

New Jersey senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim joined Baraka in condemning the raid. 

"We are deeply concerned about the news of an ICE raid in Newark today. Our offices have reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to demand answers," the senators said in a joint statement.

"Actions like this one sow fear in all of our communities — and our broken immigration system requires solutions, not fear tactics. We will continue to work with Mayor Baraka and other local officials to gather more information to ensure all New Jerseyans are safe and their dignity and rights are protected."

Baraka, a progressive Democrat, has been mayor of Newark since 2014 and is running for New Jersey governor this year. He has called for a "progressive overhaul" of the blue state and his campaign agenda includes reparations, sanctuary state laws, baby bonds, and a universal basic income."

Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., also slammed the raid in a statement. 

"Already, Trump’s attacks on immigrant communities are hitting home and we will not back down," she said. "We will always fight for the dignity and rights of everyone in our district and across the country."

In the first days of the Trump administration, ICE has made more than 460 arrests of illegal immigrants, including those with criminal histories that include sexual assault, domestic violence and drugs and weapons crimes. Arrests took place across the U.S., including Illinois, Utah, California, Minnesota, New York, Florida and Maryland. 

Agents arrested nationals from a slew of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Stephen Sorace and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested a number of child sex offenders, as well as gang members and other criminals, among the more than 530 illegal immigrants it caught on another day of the Trump-era mass deportation campaign.

Official stats show that as of 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, there were 373 criminal arrests and 165 non-criminal arrests for the day. That includes more than 1,000 removals or repatriations. The agency also arrested 16 gang members, including four belonging to the bloodthirsty Tren de Aragua.

According to ICE records, the arrests included one in Buffalo, New York of an Ecuadorian national convicted of rape. Also in Buffalo, agents arrested Pedro Julio Mejia, a national from the Dominican Republic convicted of sexual conduct against a child.

BORDER ENCOUNTERS DROP SHARPLY AS TRUMP LAUNCHES CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION 

In St. Paul, Minnesota, agents nabbed Cristofer Alexander Ramirez-Oliva, a Honduran with a conviction for third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, agents arrested Ariel Rene Romice-Patino, a Mexican who was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child and sentenced to 62 months in prison.

FIRST IMAGES OF ICE MASS DEPORTATION EFFORTS SHOW ARRESTS OF MS-13 GANG MEMBERS, MURDER SUSPECTS 

Agents also arrested Magdaleno Zenen Hernandez Garcia, a Mexican national convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child aged 14 or younger.

In New York, agents arrested Turkish national Gokhan Adriguzel, who is a known or suspected terrorist, officials say.

TRUMP'S ICE RACKS UP HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS, INCLUDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR HORROR CRIMES

In Chicago, agents arrested Rimon Aparicio-Pimentel, a Mexican with a previous conviction for attempted murder, for which he was sentenced to 17 years in prison. ICE lodged a detainer on him in 2017, but it was not honored by authorities, and he was released without ICE being notified.

The haul is the latest day of busy work for ICE, which is leading the mass deportation operation launched by the new administration. Before Thursday, ICE had made 460 arrests since Trump was inaugurated.

Trump has promised to "seal" the border and launch what he said would be a historic deportation campaign. On day one, he signed 10 orders related to the border, including orders to restart wall construction, end parole programs, limit birthright citizenship and deploy the military to the border.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

His administration has also ended a Biden-era guideline on "sensitive places" where ICE could not conduct enforcement and removed limits on the use of expedited removals to quickly deport migrants.

Fox News this week witnessed ICE Boston make eight arrests, including multiple MS-13, Interpol Red Notices, murder and rape suspects, and a volatile Haitian gang member with 18 convictions in recent years who told our cameras that he "ain’t going back to Haiti" and "f--- Trump, Biden forever!"

On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to the latest arrests as proof the administration is delivering on its promises.

"The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.," she said on X. "Promises made. Promises kept."

Benjamine Huffman, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, on Thursday issued a finding calling for an immediate federal response to combat an "actual or imminent mass influx" of illegal immigrants arriving at the southern border. 

In his finding, Huffman requested help from all 50 states to assist the federal government in immigration enforcement.

The secretary determined that "there exist circumstances involving the administration of the immigration laws of the United States that endanger the lives, property, safety, or welfare of the residents" in all 50 states. 

‘ABUSED THE LAWS’: GOP BILL VOWS TO SHUT DOWN KEY BIDEN-ERA POLICIES BENEFITING MIGRANTS

"I further find that an actual or imminent mass influx of aliens is arriving at the southern border of the United States and presents urgent circumstances requiring an immediate federal response," he said. "I therefore request the assistance of State and local governments in all 50 States."

The finding is effective immediately and expires in 60 days, unless extended. The 60 days will give officials time to deputize local and state law enforcement to assist in immigration enforcement. 

Some states like California will likely push back on efforts to assist federal immigration authorities. On Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said local and state enforcement cannot be ordered to perform federal immigration duties. 

US STING SNARES ARMED FELON SMUGGLERS TIED TO FOREIGN PRISON GANG, CARTEL: POLICE

"It is well-established — through longstanding Supreme Court precedent — that the U.S. Constitution prevents the federal government from commandeering states to enforce federal laws," Bonta said in a statement. "While the federal government may use its own resources for federal immigration enforcement, the court ruled in Printz v. United States that the federal government cannot ‘impress into its service — and at no cost to itself — the police officers of the 50 States'."

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has also doubled down on its policy of limiting cooperation with immigration authorities. 

'LOUD AND CLEAR': BORDER STATE'S LEGISLATURE MOVES TO BACK TRUMP'S ICE ON DEPORTATIONS

"That’s not my job. I have too much to do," LVMPD Sheriff Kevin McMahill recently told 8 News.

In addition, the Justice Department is pushing for federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who obstruct immigration enforcement.

As part of his finding, Huffman noted that more than 8 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S. through the southern border in the past four years, while millions more evaded detection. 

"Over the last four years, our southern border has been overrun. Last month, Border Patrol encountered 47,330 aliens along the southern border," the finding states. "While that number is a major reduction from the peak over the last four years, it is still too high. To demonstrate, in that month, Border Patrol released at least 6,920 aliens at the southwest border, the vast majority of whom are subject to mandatory detention."

DOJ TO INVESTIGATE STATE OR LOCAL OFFICIALS WHO OBSTRUCT IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT: MEMO

He cited periods during the Biden administration when the numbers were "astronomically higher," such as December 2022, when border agents released at least 140,306 illegal immigrants at the southwest border.

"Whether the number is 140,000 or 6,000, this is not the way our immigration laws are supposed to work. Aliens arriving at ports of entry or entering unlawfully are supposed to be inspected," Huffman said. 

"Unless they are "clearly and beyond a doubt entitled to be admitted," they are supposed to be detained until either removed or they are granted discretionary relief such as asylum."

In the first days of the Trump administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants, including those with violent criminal histories. 

In a 33-hour period between midnight Jan. 21 and 9 a.m. Jan 22, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants from numerous countries who have criminal histories of sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drugs and weapons offenses, resisting arrest and domestic violence.

While multiple factors may be considered in determining an influx, Huffman said the magnitude of the problem was sufficient to make the finding. 

"First, if the influx is not controlled, it is likely to increase. I have seen again and again that failure to control the border increases the incentives for more aliens to attempt to enter unlawfully," he said. "Second, the introduction of unvetted foreign persons — at least some of whom will unquestionably be criminals — has a likelihood to increase criminal activity.

"Much of the illegal entries at our southern border involve other criminal conduct, including human trafficking, drug smuggling, and sexual assault," he added. "Third, law enforcement agencies, particularly immigration enforcement agencies, face unusual and overwhelming demands. In particular, immigration enforcement agencies currently face a shortage of detention capacity necessary to comply with the statutory detention obligations."

Democrat lawmakers are worried American farms will suffer under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiative.

Approximately 40% of crop farmworkers are not approved to work in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Agricultural Workers Survey, and Democrat lawmakers are curious about who will step in to work in the heat or cold. 

As a result, senators questioned Trump’s pick to lead the Agriculture Department, Brooke Rollins, about whether mass deportation under the Trump administration will undermine the farming workforce. 

"Can we expect this administration to be raiding farms, going after the immigrant farmers?" Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said during Rollins’ confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee on Thursday. 

‘NATIONAL EMERGENCY:’ TRUMP DECLARES AMBITIOUS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN IN INAUGURAL ADDRESS

"Listen, the president’s vision of a secure border and a mass deportation at a scale that matters is something I support," Rollins said. 

Rollins then promised to help Trump execute his agenda while also "defending" American farmers and ranchers. 

"But when you’re talking about massive deportation, we’ve gone beyond dangerous criminals," Durbin said. "I just wonder if we ought to give fair warning to farmers and ranchers across America that if you have immigrant labor, you can expect federal agents to come and search your property."

"I have not been involved in the president’s current plan, I cannot answer that one way or the other," Rollins said. 

Trump has promised to take an aggressive approach to border security and illegal immigration, and the Department of Homeland Security issued a notice Tuesday to green-light expedited deportation of illegal immigrants. 

‘PROMPT REMOVAL’: TRUMP DHS EXPANDS EXPEDITED DEPORTATION POWERS AS OPERATIONS RAMP UP

Other Democrat senators, including Peter Welch of Vermont and Adam Schiff of California, echoed similar sentiments regarding the implications of mass deportation on farms.

While the lawmakers acknowledged that those who pose a public safety threat shouldn’t remain in the U.S., they also said Americans are less inclined to work in the harsh conditions that farming requires than illegal immigrants.

Schiff said estimates suggest half of California’s farm workforce is undocumented and asked Rollins how farmers were supposed to survive if half their workforce is cut because "Americans don’t want to do that work" since it's "too backbreaking." As a result, Schiff asked who would work on California's farms.

Rollins said she would work with the committee and with the Labor Department on the matter.

"We will work together to understand and hopefully solve some of these problems. The dairy cattle have to be milked, but if we’ve got a mass deportation program underway, then there’s a lot of work that we need to do," Rollins said. 

TRUMP BORDER CZAR REVEALS ICE TEAMS ARE ALREADY ARRESTING ‘PUBLIC SAFETY THREATS’

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle also voiced concerns about how farmers will fare should Trump follow through on his plans to implement tariffs. Trump’s economic plan calls for imposing tariffs ranging from 10% to 20% on all imported goods. 

When Trump’s first administration imposed tariffs, China issued its own retaliatory tariffs that cost the federal government billions of dollars in government aid to farmers.

"I’m trepidacious that this is going to come back to our farmers," Democrat Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said. 

"My commitment is that there will be no sleeping, that we will work around the clock to ensure that our AG communities across this country are represented in those discussions and at the table," Rollins said. 

Rollins previously worked as the director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during Trump’s first term. After working for the Trump administration, Rollins co-founded the America First Policy Institute think tank.

The secretary of the Agriculture Department is responsible for managing farm and nutrition, forestry, food safety, rural development and agricultural research.

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican is re-introducing legislation to make assaulting law enforcement a deportable offense for immigrants, amid a fresh immigration push in Congress.

Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., is re-introducing the Protect Our Law enforcement with Immigration Control and Enforcement (POLICE) Act.

The bill would explicitly make assaulting a law enforcement officer a deportable offense. The legislation struggled to advance in a Democratic-run Senate, and is expected to have a better chance at success now Republicans have a majority. There is a version in the House as well.

‘TIDES ARE SHIFTING': PUSH TO CODIFY KEY TRUMP-ERA POLICY SNAGS DOZENS OF COSPONSORS, INCLUDING DEMS

The bill says that any "alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts constituting the essential elements of, and offense involving the assault of a law enforcement officer is deportable."
 

"One of the best ways we can support law enforcement officers, and protect the public, is by deporting dangerous people who do them harm. If a migrant commits the crime of assaulting an officer or other first responder, they should be subject to immediate deportation," Budd said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

"Our lawmakers must always back the men and women who protect and serve our communities. We must act on this vital proposal."

The bill has a dozen co-sponsors in the upper chamber, including Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Steve Daines R-Mont., Katie Britt, R-Ala.,, Ted Cruz, R-Texas,, and James Lankford R-Okla.

TRUMP'S ICE RACKS UP HUNDREDS OF ARRESTS, INCLUDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED FOR HORROR CRIMES

The bill emerged the same week that the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of illegal immigrants charged with theft-related crimes, was sent to President Trump’s desk after passing both chambers of Congress with bipartisan support. Trump is expected to sign the measure.

Legislators have also introduced other anti-illegal immigrant measures, including bills to restore the Remain in Mexico program and to cut down on humanitarian parole and Temporary Protected Status.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

Meanwhile, President Trump signed 10 executive orders on day one of his administration, including bills to send military to the border and declare a national emergency.

Federal agencies have been making similar moves, including reducing restrictions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in sensitive areas and ordering a review of the use of parole by federal agencies.