Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including those from the Homeland Security Investigations division, informed agency leaders during a call on Monday that agents are required to continue workforce site immigration raids targeting agricultural businesses, hotels, and restaurants, the newspaper reported, citing two sources familiar with the discussion.
The Department of Homeland Security, of which ICE is a part, had no immediate comment late on Monday.
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An internal email reviewed by Reuters indicated that a senior US official and another source informed Reuters late last week that the Trump administration had directed immigration officials to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, restaurants, and meatpacking plants.
Upon taking office in January, Trump promised to deport millions of undocumented immigrants in the US. While he framed this effort around targeting serious criminals, many individuals suspected of immigration violations without any criminal records have been caught up in recent months.
ICE’s more assertive tactics – including raids in Los Angeles – have led to protests.