DHS Announces ICE Surge, Denies Arrest Policy Changed

The Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had begun a nationwide public-safety enforcement surge in sanctuary cities and denied that the agency had changed its arrest policy. The announcement followed reports that ICE officers had received weekend instructions limiting arrests to people with criminal convictions or charges, including a reported halt to collateral arrests. DHS said ICE would continue arresting people in the country illegally, including those without criminal convictions or charges. It described the surge as targeting people with criminal records and said the operations were intended to protect public safety. The department did not provide operational details about the surge in the statements described in the reports. The accounts of the weekend guidance differ. Anonymous agency sources, as reported in one account, said officers had been told to arrest only people with criminal convictions or charges and to stop collateral arrests. That account also said the restriction would apply to people with final deportation orders but no criminal convictions or charges.