President Trump’s bold deportation push in 2026 exposes past Democratic hypocrisy on immigration enforcement, validating his long-standing warnings about lax borders now being acted upon decisively.
Story Highlights
- Trump’s administration launches the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history, targeting all undocumented immigrants unlike Obama and Biden’s limited approaches.
- One Big Beautiful Bill Act allocates $170 billion for ICE expansion, detention, and border wall, reversing years of open-border policies.
- Cities resist with fees and ordinances, highlighting ongoing leftist pushback against secure borders and rule of law.
- Expanded enforcement powers include nationwide raids and expedited removals, prioritizing American safety over sanctuary chaos.
Trump Reshapes Immigration Enforcement
Since returning to office in 2025, President Donald Trump directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement to execute the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history. Federal agents conduct deportation flights, including to third countries, and ramp up nationwide raids. The administration grants expanded powers to federal, state, and local officials for immigration law enforcement. This whole-of-government strategy fulfills campaign promises to secure borders and remove threats to public safety. Nearly 69,000 individuals occupy ICE detention as of early January 2026.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act Fuels Deportations
Congress passes the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July 2025, providing $170 billion over four years for immigration enforcement. Funds support $45 billion to expand ICE detention capacity and $30 billion to hire 10,000 more enforcement officers by late 2025. An additional $46 billion advances border wall construction. The bill caps immigration judges at 800 amid a 3.8 million case backlog, streamlining removals. Trump declares a southern border emergency, enabling military involvement and Homeland Security Task Forces in all 50 states.
Shift from Prior Administrations
Trump targets all undocumented immigrants for deportation, diverging from Barack Obama’s focus on criminals, recent entrants, and security threats. The Biden administration prioritized public safety, border security, and national security risks, often releasing migrants due to border overload. Trump reverses this by deploying Customs and Border Protection into the U.S. interior. Daily arrest quotas aim for 3,000 undocumented immigrants, though DHS denies formal quotas exist. This broadens enforcement nets nationwide.
Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller confirms the aggressive quotas in May 2025. USCIS pauses Afghan asylum processing after National Guard killings by an Afghan asylum grantee. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem halts immigration requests from Afghan nationals indefinitely. The agency reexamines green cards from 19 high-concern countries.
Cities and Critics Push Back
Cities enact fees, fines, and ordinances to counter Trump’s immigration enforcement, resisting federal mandates. Legal experts question if Trump stretches presidential powers through old statutes and expedited removals without hearings. Incidents like fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis spark protests and bipartisan calls for investigation. Immigrant rights groups claim eroded due process, yet conservatives applaud restoring order after years of fiscal mismanagement and illegal immigration under prior regimes.
Sources:
Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Fact Check: Presidential Debate
Clinton Reaches Too Far on Immigration Claim
Republican National Convention 2016: Fact-Checking Speakers
