The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stepped up deportation efforts in recent weeks, targeting various locations across the country, including worksites. However, in a sudden shift last week, DHS instructed staff to temporarily pause immigration enforcement at farms, restaurants and hotels, which are workplaces where some employees may lack legal status.
The pause lasted just a few days, according to sources. The DHS reversed course on Tuesday, June 17, with federal officials warning that there are “no safe spaces” when it comes to immigration enforcement. That message was also echoed to Democratic cities that oppose immigration operations.
What led to the temporary pause?
President Donald Trump on Thursday, June 12, wrote on Truth Social that his hardline immigration policies prompted complaints from farmers and leaders in the hotel and leisure industries, who said they were losing workers critical to their businesses. The president vowed “changes are coming,” but didn’t explicitly state what they were.
“In many cases the criminals allowed into our country by the very stupid Biden open borders policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our farmers, but get the criminals out of the USA,” the post said.
NBC News obtained an internal memo on Thursday from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) instructing agents to pause arrests at restaurants, hotels, meatpacking plants and fisheries following Trump’s post. While the memo has not been confirmed by White House officials, they have continued to maintain that anyone in the United States illegally remains subject to deportation.
A recent example came in Omaha, Nebraska, where the DHS carried out the largest worksite raid of the year. On Wednesday, June 11, dozens of workers at Glenn Valley Foods were detained for allegedly using falsified documents to show they were authorized to work in the U.S.
DHS says ‘no safe spaces’ for undocumented immigrants
In a statement on Monday, DHS assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts.”
She said operations at worksites is a cornerstone in DHS’s efforts to “safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller recently said the goal is at least 3,000 arrests per day. Trump’s border adviser, Tom Homan, told The Washington Post last week that arrests have already climbed to about 2,000 a day.
Trump says Democratic cities are the next focus
Trump told the press in Air Force One on Tuesday that he’s asking immigration officials to look everywhere, focusing on inner cities where he said Biden let in gang members, drug dealers and prisoners into America.
“No one’s getting exemptions anymore, everyone is looked at but the bigger problem is the cities right now. That’s where and that tends to be where the really bad ones are,” he said.
Over the weekend Trump said he’s directing ICE officers to increase arrests in major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. In a recent post, Trump said the full weight of his administration would support immigration enforcement efforts and urged federal agencies to prioritize public safety and removal of undocumented immigrants.
A senior Trump official told Rolling Stone that “Chicago is next if they go too far,” adding that Trump was prepared to take action if protests escalated over the weekend in response to his immigration policies.
Multiple sources said federal officials were monitoring the “No Kings” demonstrations in Chicago and reviewing law enforcement reports and intelligence after Mayor Brandon Johnson urged residents to “rise up” against federal immigration enforcement.
