The White House is celebrating a "blockbuster" week for President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, citing significant arrests and border security measures. This week’s actions include over 100,000 illegal immigrants arrested since Trump took office, with high-profile arrests of cartel members and criminal aliens. ICE operations, such as Operation Patriot, led to record arrests in Massachusetts, while the administration highlighted advancements in border wall expansion and the disruption of drug trafficking networks.
On the heels of "Operation Patriot," the largest ICE operation ever, which saw the arrest of nearly 1,500 illegal aliens in the deep blue state of Massachusetts, ICE arrests surged this week, with agents making over 2,000 arrests Tuesday and nearly 2,500 Wednesday. The administration emphasized that these operations are part of Trump’s broader strategy to secure the U.S. border and combat illegal immigration.
Over the weekend, ICE officials and local authorities in South Carolina raided a "cartel after-party" where 80 illegal aliens were arrested, including two alleged "high-level cartel members" of the Mexican cartel Los Zetas and the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. One of the individuals arrested, a Honduran national, has been named in an international murder case. The New York Times also reported that deportation flights reached the highest level yet under the Trump administration, with ICE announcing the deportation of 142 criminal aliens to Mexico, including child predators, gang members, human traffickers, and one individual convicted of making terroristic threats.
On Monday, ICE announced a "game-changing" seizure of 50,000 kilograms of meth ingredients destined for the Sinaloa Cartel, highlighting the administration’s efforts to disrupt the flow of chemicals used in illicit narcotics production. Chad Plantz, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations Houston, stated that the collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection provides authorities with a "game-changing method" to stay ahead of cartels.
A source familiar with the operations shared with Fox News Digital a listing of some of the arrests made by ICE this week, including a Salvadoran national arrested in Los Angeles for sodomy of a child, a Mexican national arrested in Chicago for criminal sexual assault of a child, a Honduran national arrested in El Paso for possession of child pornography, and a Laotian national arrested for murder and attempted murder. These arrests underscore the administration’s focus on both border security and the prosecution of serious crimes committed by illegal aliens.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson called this week "a blockbuster week for President Trump’s immigration agenda," emphasizing that Trump is fulfilling his promise to secure the Southern border and deport illegal aliens. She added that the President is cracking down on cartels and reducing the flow of fentanyl across the border by over half in the last year, with the statement concluding that "under President Trump’s America First leadership, it’s a bad day to be an illegal alien and a great day to be an American."