Following President Donald Trump’s return to office, immigration enforcement operations have started to sweep through major U.S. cities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 956 people on Sunday — the largest number of arrests on a single day by the Trump administration to date — bringing total ICE arrests since inauguration to at least 2,681 arrests.
While the Trump administration has touted the crackdown as targeting criminals, there has been concern over law-abiding migrants and those with permits also being rounded up. Officials have not disclosed numbers differentiating migrants with criminal histories and those without that are in custody.
Here are the major cities where arrests have unfolded:
Chicago
In Chicago, migrant arrest crackdowns took place on Sunday.
Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, told NBC News that among the people arrested in Chicago, six were convicted of serious offenses, two were previously convicted of murder and aggravated sexual battery, and multiple others were gang members.
Arrest efforts continued Monday. There are 10 separate teams of about 10 federal agents each fanned out across the city, a source familiar with the operations said Monday. Teams include officers from multiple federal agencies, not just ICE, the source said.
Chicago.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Chicago is a sanctuary city which protects migrants seeking citizenship. Under those protections, cooperation between city police and immigration agents is prohibited, NBC Chicago reported. Mayor Brandon Johnson confirmed in a statement on X that Chicago police were not involved in the ICE activity.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told CNN on Sunday he supports deporting people convicted of violent crimes, but disagrees with targeting those who follow the law, saying: “These are not people who are causing problems in our country, and what we need is a path to citizenship for them.”
Immigrant rights groups and city officials have prepared for the crackdown, with campaigns publishing information for immigrants to know their rights in case of an arrest.
Los Angeles
The Los Angeles offices of Homeland Security Investigations and the DEA said they were working with partners to conduct law enforcement operations in accordance with the Trump administration’s immigration priorities.
The offices shared photos of law enforcement agents in green garb taking people into custody.
The city council formally adopted a sanctuary city ordinance late last year which prohibits city resources or personnel from being used to aid in federal enforcement of immigration laws, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Phoenix
The Phoenix office of the DEA said Sunday it was working with the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security “with their immigration efforts,” sharing photos of officers in law enforcement vests.
San Diego
The DEA’s San Diego office also shared on X photos of agents arresting people on Sunday.
Denver
On Sunday, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division executed a search warrant at a makeshift club in Denver and arrested “numerous individuals” associated and connected with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, or TdA.
Forty-nine people were inside the location at the time and ICE determined at least 41 were in the U.S. illegally.
Miami
Raids also unfolded in Miami on Sunday.
The ICE Miami office said that among those arrested was a Nicaraguan national who was being held at the Broward County Jail with pending charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful carry of concealed weapon, discharging a firearm in public and driving with a suspended license.
A Jamaican national was also arrested on charges of possession of oxycodone, displaying a firearm during a felony offense and operating a vehicle without a valid license.
The Homeland Security Investigation office in Miami shared on X photos showing agents detaining people. The office said the arrests were the result of “excellent collaboration” to enforce “U.S. immigration laws and ensuring the safety of our communities.”
Atlanta
The DEA’s Atlanta office said Sunday it participated in an operation supporting the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security and other federal law enforcement partners with “their immigration enforcement efforts” in Atlanta.
Wilson Rogelio Velásquez Cruz, a Honduran immigrant, was arrested at Iglesia Fuente de Vida, a church in Tucker, his family told NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta.
His family said agents went to his home first, then his church.
His wife told the station that he arrived in the U.S. in 2022 with his wife and three children under a work permit while awaiting a pending asylum case, and that permit was valid for four more years. He had been issued an immigration GPS monitor and his arrest marked the first time he was detained since crossing the border.
Various cities in Texas
ICE conducted “targeted operations” in North Texas on Sunday, including in Dallas, Irving, Arlington, Fort Worth and Collin County that resulted in at least 84 people apprehended, an ICE official told NBC News.
Many of them were targeted due to “varying degrees of criminality” in their background, the official said. Some of the apprehensions were “collateral” arrests — meaning people who happened to be where a targeted individual was located. It’s unclear how many of the 84 were collateral arrests.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero acknowledged the implementation of Trump’s immigration executive order on Sunday, saying: “I would like to express my solidarity with all the families affected by these measures. Likewise, I would like to clarify that, up to this moment, I have not been officially notified by any federal authority about the details of the processes that are being carried out in our city.”
He said that neither municipal police nor government entities under San Juan’s jurisdiction are collaborating or supporting the operations.
The mayor said San Juan will offer support and provide “orientation, citizenship classes and assistance to those who need it to ensure that their rights are respected and that due process of law is complied with. I have directed the Office of Immigrant Assistance to make available the necessary resources to maximize our efforts,” Romero also said.
“Under my administration, San Juan will continue to be a place where diversity and inclusion are deeply valued,” he added.
