Trump Administration Launches Largest Deportation Operation in U.S. History

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Alliance News): U.S. authorities arrested 538 undocumented migrants and deported hundreds in a sweeping operation just days into President Donald Trump’s second term, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced late Thursday.

Leavitt described the action as “the largest massive deportation operation in history,” stating it fulfills Trump’s campaign promises. Military aircraft were used to facilitate the deportations, she said in a post on social media platform X.

The operation sparked outrage in Newark, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted raids that reportedly detained undocumented residents and U.S. citizens alike without warrants.

Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka criticized the detentions, highlighting the case of a U.S. military veteran and condemning the raids as unconstitutional.

An ICE update on X confirmed “538 arrests” and “373 detainers lodged.”

New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim voiced concern over the raids, calling them “fear tactics” and urging comprehensive immigration reform.

On his first day back in office, Trump declared a “national emergency” at the southern border, signed executive orders to deploy additional troops, and promised to deport “criminal aliens.”

He reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, requiring asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their cases are processed, and suspended asylum programs for refugees from authoritarian regimes in Central and South America.

The administration’s approach has left thousands of asylum seekers stranded at the U.S.-Mexico border, drawing criticism from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocacy groups.

Earlier this week, Congress passed a Republican-backed bill to expand pretrial detention for foreign criminal suspects.

Trump’s rhetoric on illegal migration, including his comments about it “poisoning the blood” of the nation, has drawn comparisons to the language of Nazi Germany, further intensifying the political divide over his policies.