Trump Admin Adopts Low-Profile Deportation Strategy

The Trump administration has adopted a lower-profile strategy for immigration enforcement under Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, moving away from high-visibility operations in cities while upholding plans to deport 1 million people in each of the next two fiscal years.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Mullin outlined his approach to executing President Donald Trump's deportation priorities, stating his aim was to keep the department out of the headlines. His first trip as secretary focused on hurricane recovery in North Carolina, differing from his predecessor Kristi Noem's visit to New York City for arrests with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Social media videos of former Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino confronting protesters have also ceased.

This shift follows last year's enforcement actions in several Democratic-led cities, which increased arrests through large-scale sweeps but triggered clashes between officers and protesters, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. No similar high-profile operations have occurred since, coinciding with a decline in public support for the administration's immigration stance.