Hundreds of “illegal immigrant criminals” in the United States were arrested Thursday and hundreds of others flown out of the country on military aircraft as President Trump’s promised mass deportation operation got underway, the White House said.
In a post on X Thursday night, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The Trump Administration arrested 538 illegal immigrant criminals including a suspected terrorist, four members of the Tren de Aragua gang, and several illegals convicted of sex crimes against minors.”
She gave no details.
Tren de Aragua is a violent gang that started in Venezuela and has now started to spread into the U.S. It became something of a flashpoint during the presidential campaign.
Leavitt added that, “The Trump Administration also deported hundreds of illegal immigrant criminals via military aircraft. The largest massive deportation operation in history is well underway.”
Mr. Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration during the campaign and began his second term this week with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling the U.S. immigration system.
There are an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States.
On Thursday, Newark, New Jersey Mayor Ras Baraka, a Democrat, said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents “raided a local establishment … detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant”.
Baraka said one of those detained during the raid was a U.S. military veteran.
