Weeks after a similar plan was shelved, officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plan to launch raids Sunday in several major cities aimed at arresting thousands of immigrants who are suspected of entering the country illegally, President Donald Trump confirmed Friday.
Update 3:30 p.m. EDT July 12: Trump told reporters gathered at the White House on Friday that "there's nothing secret about" the planned raids.
"If the word gets out, it gets out. Hundreds of people know about it. It's a major operation," Trump said.
"It starts on Sunday and they're going to take people out and they're going to bring them back to their countries or they're going to take criminals out, put them in prison or put them in prison in the countries they came from."
According to CNN, the raids are expected to take place in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco.
Officials in New Orleans, another city reportedly set to see ICE raids Sunday, said in a statement Thursday that "immigration enforcement will temporarily be suspended through the weekend" as officials grapple with the effects of Tropical Storm Barry.
Original report: Citing three unidentified administration officials, The Wall Street Journal reported the raids were planned as part of President Donald Trump's efforts to curb illegal immigration. The president told reporters gathered last week at the White House that raids targeting people who entered the U.S. illegally would "be starting fairly soon."
Two unidentified senior homeland security officials told NBC News that authorities plan to target about 2,000 families in 10 cities nationwide, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York.
The families being targeted by the raids recently crossed the border, according to The New York Times. The newspaper was the first to report on the planned raids.
Citing two current homeland security officials and one former official, the Times reported many of the immigrants to be targeted in Sunday's roundups were notified in February to report to an ICE office and leave the United States.
Trump announced in June that officials were planning to remove millions of immigrants who came to the country illegally in raids slated to begin late last month. The president later said he was delaying the planned deportations at the request of Democrats to allow more time for lawmakers to address immigration reform.
Officials do not typically announce planned immigration raids ahead of time, according to The Associated Press.
In May, migrant apprehensions on the U.S.-Mexico border reached a 13-year high, according to Reuters. However, apprehensions eased in June as officials in Mexico increased immigration enforcement, the news site reported.
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