Lone Candle

“The Trump administration’s plan to arrest and deport as many undocumented immigrants as possible quickly became a numbers game as White House officials set quotas and government press officers highlighted each day’s deportation tally. As president, Donald Trump is continuing his campaign-trail rhetoric by insisting federal officers are rounding up murderers, even though a deportation policy that focuses on generating impressive numbers to achieve a “mission accomplished” moment cannot also prioritize removing dangerous criminals.”

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“After Trump became “disappointed” in the number of arrests so far, The Washington Post reported, the administration set arrest quotas, telling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials that “each of the agency’s field offices should make 75 arrests per day and managers would be held accountable for missing those targets.” The Post added, “The orders significantly increase the chance that officers will engage in more indiscriminate enforcement tactics or face accusations of civil rights violations as they strain to meet quotas, according to current and former ICE officials.””

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“Given the desire for numbers and other factors, cases of U.S. citizens being held or arrested by ICE are likely—and already happening. A U.S. military veteran from Puerto Rico was apprehended during a raid in New Jersey. (Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.) “At least 15 Indigenous people in Arizona and New Mexico have reported being stopped at their homes and workplaces, questioned or detained by federal law enforcement and asked to produce proof of citizenship during immigration raids since Wednesday, according to Navajo Nation officials,” reported CNN.

During most presidential administrations, due to limited resources, ICE focuses on people with criminal convictions.”

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“Considering the vast majority of deportees will not be criminals but men, women, and children who lived and worked in the U.S. peacefully for years, Americans will decide if the number hailed by government officials is cause for celebration.”

https://reason.com/2025/01/31/trumps-deportation-plan-is-about-numbers-not-safety/