White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said that all the arrested illegal immigrants are criminals.
A massive crackdown on illegal immigrants began just three days after the inauguration of Donald Trump’s administration in the United States. A total of 538 people were arrested in the operation.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt shared this information in a post on X on Thursday. She stated that all the illegal immigrants arrested on Thursday are criminals, including members of Venezuelan prison gangs and those convicted of sexual offenses.
Levitt did not provide further details. U.S. immigration officials also conducted arrests at workplaces in Newark, New Jersey, targeting undocumented immigrants as well as U.S. citizens.
The Mayor of Newark said that among those arrested was a retired military officer, and this arrest operation violated human rights.
Newark is the most populous city in New Jersey and follows a policy of providing protection and sanctuary to immigrants. Mayor Ras Baraka has praised this policy in the past.
Before Trump took office, his border czar, Tom Homan, had stated that sanctuary cities would be the primary targets for immigrant deportations.
After Trump took office last Monday, he signed several executive orders, including one to crack down on illegal immigrants. He also outlined measures to punish officials who would obstruct the operation.
On Thursday, during a raid at a business in Newark, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested both undocumented immigrants and U.S. citizens without showing an arrest warrant, according to a statement by Mayor Baraka.
He said that this operation violated the rights of U.S. citizens guaranteed by the Constitution. He added that Newark would not remain passive while people were illegally and fearfully harassed.
Neither Mayor Baraka nor ICE agents disclosed the names of the businesses where the raids took place.
