Feds begin first major immigration raids in NYC under Trump deportation initiative

Federal authorities descended on the Big Apple early Tuesday morning to carry out their first major deportation raids in the city as part of President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed early Tuesday that it was working with the Justice Department and “other federal law enforcement partners are assisting DHS with their immigration enforcement efforts” — sharing pics of some of the initial raids.

(L-R) Homeland Security Investigations Chicago Special Agent in Charge Fitzgerald, Border Czar Thomas Homan and DEA Chicago Field Division Special Agent in Charge Sheila G. Lyons during an operational pre-briefing in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. DEA Chicago

The feds have been rounding up hundreds of criminal migrants daily in sanctuary cities nationwide since Trump assumed office under the watchful eye of border czar Thomas Homan.

Agents have hit Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles and New Orleans as part of its effort to ship lawbreakers out of the country.

Homan warned on ABC News last Sunday anyone in the country illegally is “on the table” for deportation.

US Customs and Border Protection security agents guide detained migrants to board a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft for a removal flight at Fort Bliss, Texas, on Jan. 23, 2025. via REUTERS

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers use a chain to more comfortably restrain a detained person using handcuffs positioned in front, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. AP

“You’re going to see the numbers steadily increase, the number of arrests nationwide, as we open up the aperture,” he said. “Right now, it’s concentrating on public safety threats [and] national security threats. That’s a smaller population.

“So we’re going to do this on a priority [basis], that’s President Trump’s promise. But as that aperture opens, there’ll be more arrests nationwide.”

Trump loosened restrictions on how immigration officers can approach deportation raids, tossing out bans on searching churches, courthouses and other “sensitive” sites that illegal migrants have historically holed up in to avoid landing on the feds’ radar.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents knock on the door of a residence during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. Bloomberg via Getty Images

Mayor Eric Adams said last week ahead of the crackdown that city officials would “coordinate” with ICE on handling migrant criminals, but was still analyzing Trump’s new rule allowing raids in “sensitive” areas.

Adams has tried to assuage worries of immigrant New Yorkers that are afraid of getting caught up in indiscriminate raids.

The NYPD sent out an internal memo obtained by The Post reminding cops they can partner with ICE on criminal investigation, but not federal deportations, which are civil matters under the city’s sanctuary status.

ICE said it made 1,179 arrests and lodged 853 detainers on Monday after it carried out 956 arrests and issued 554 detainers on Sunday leading up to Tuesday’s Big Apple action. 

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