President Donald Trump is delaying plans to deport illegal immigrants who violated court orders by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to give lawmakers time to reach a solution to the border crisis.
“At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!” Trump posted on his Twitter on June 22.
Three administration officials told The Associated Press the operation had been canceled because details had leaked in the media and officer safety could be jeopardized. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly on the operation and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The operation was expected to begin June 23 and would have targeted people with final orders of removal, including families whose immigration cases had been fast-tracked by judges.
Trump’s announcement sparked criticism from Democrats and activist groups during the week, but the president defended his decision to remove the illegal immigrants in a social media post on June 22.
“The people that Ice will apprehend have already been ordered to be deported,” Trump said earlier today. “This means that they have run from the law and run from the courts. These are people that are supposed to go back to their home country. They broke the law by coming into the country, & now by staying.”
“When people come into our Country illegally, they will be DEPORTED!” Trump added.
Before boarding Marine One to go to Camp David on June 22, Trump told reporters that the arrests will be “during the course of this next week, maybe even a little bit earlier than that.”
“Some cities are going to fight it, but if you notice, they’re generally high crime cities. If you look at Chicago, they’re fighting it. If you look at other cities, they’re fighting it. Many of those cities are high crime cities and they’re sanctuary cities,” Trump added. “People are tired of sanctuary cities and what it does and the crime it brings.”
