U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that raids over the weekend aimed at immigrants who had been ordered deported were “very successful” even though much of the activity was not visible to the public.
Trump had vowed to launch mass deportation roundups over the weekend, causing immigrants and their advocates to brace for mass arrests, but by Sunday evening there were only reports of low-profile operations in a few cities.
“The ICE raids were very successful,” Trump told reporters at a White House event.
“Many, many were taken out on Sunday — you just didn’t know about it. It was a very successful day but you didn’t see a lot of it.”
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The multi-day, multi-city operation was expected to target more than 2,000 families who had been ordered deported by an immigration judge.
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Immigrant families were on standby on Sunday, fearing a knock at their door, but there were only a few reports of arrests in some cities.
In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio said three ICE operations were underway on Saturday, though there were no reported arrests. No arrests were reported in Miami or Atlanta, Reuters reported, but there were unconfirmed reports of three people being detained by ICE in Denver on Sunday.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) declined to comment for Reuters on the operations, citing safety concerns for agents.
The raids were intended to deter a surge in Central American families from seeking asylum in the United States.
— With files from Global News
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