Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested 12 undocumented migrants in a recent worksite raid on the South Texas border, as the agency scrambles to ramp up arrests.
According to the Border Report, 12 immigrants were apprehended at two businesses in Harlingen and San Benito, Texas, both in the Rio Grande Valley. The migrants were from Mexico and El Salvador and are currently awaiting expulsion from the United States.
The operations were carried out by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations Rio Grande Valley office, with support from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations.
An ICE spokeswoman informed the outlet that raids and subsequent arrests are always the result of genuine evidence of unlawful conduct, such as human trafficking, money laundering, and fraud, rather than random searches and massive indiscriminate raids.
The agency said Tuesday that ICE is “aware of concerns circulating throughout South Texas regarding reports of widespread immigration raids. We want to assure the community that these rumors are often exaggerated and can cause unnecessary panic. ICE Homeland Security investigations conducts enforcement operations based on credible evidence— not indiscriminate or widespread raids.”
The identities of the apprehended migrants, as well as the charges against them, have yet to be established.
The recent raids occur as ICE attempts to meet enforced arrest quotas. Last month, Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff for policy, allegedly threatened to dismiss senior ICE officials if the agency would not begin making 3,000 arrests every day.
The threat has prompted ICE to be more innovative in its approach to migrant custody, including detaining those in the Alternative to Custody (ATD) program. Under that program, the agency releases undocumented immigrants who are not judged a threat to public safety and then monitors them via ankle monitors, smartphone applications, or other geolocating tools, as well as regular check-ins at ICE facilities.
The spike in arrests has also heightened tensions across the country, prompting hundreds of thousands of Americans to protest the administration’s deportation policies. Demonstrations began in Los Angeles last week, prompting the deployment of thousands of National Guard personnel. However, the activism has spread to the rest of the country, with hundreds of rallies planned for Saturday, when the administration will commemorate not only the Army’s anniversary but also Trump’s 79th birthday.
