Florida immigration sting 'a preview of what is to come' for US, White House says

David Catanese, Miami Herald on Apr 28, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced it would attempt to shame state and local authorities that aren’t cooperating with its mass-deportation effort, a campaign it described as still “in the beginning stages,” even as the White House celebrates its ceremonial 100th day in office.

Under a new executive order being signed Monday, President Donald Trump is ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to publish a list of state and local governments that they see as obstructing federal immigration enforcement.

It’s the latest incremental escalation of Trump’s aggressive second-term immigration crackdown that has put him in a sustained clash with the federal judiciary over the role of due process for migrants being sent out of the country.

At a press briefing Monday, administration officials used numbers to bolster their unquestionably successful campaign of stemming the flow of migrants at the Mexican border.

Border czar Tom Homan noted that during much of the Biden administration, crossings at the southern border averaged between 11,000 and 15,000 each day.

“You know what the number was the last 24 hours? One-hundred-seventy-eight,” Homan said. “Fifteen thousand to 178. Unprecedented.”

In another stark contrast with the Biden administration, Homan said just nine undocumented immigrants have been released into the U.S. during Trump’s opening months in office. Last year, that number was 184,000.

Blasting the former president’s border record, Homan asserted, “Biden unsecured it on purpose.” He estimated there are at least 20 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., with 700,000 facing criminal charges.

Earlier this month, Noem said “20 to 21 million people ... need to go home,” but deportations have proven harder to facilitate due to legal challenges and scant resources.

Homan put the number of total deportations at 139,000, when asked by a reporter during Monday’s White House briefing. He characterized the deportation pace as “good” but lamented media coverage claiming Biden deported at a faster clip.

“We don’t have 10.5 million people crossing the border. We don’t have border removals,” he said. “So Joe Biden could’ve deported 5% of his encounters and the numbers will still be higher than us on border removal, because we’ve got a secure border.”

The administration also trumpeted the results of Operation Tidal Wave, a joint enforcement action led by ICE Miami in partnership with other law enforcement agencies. Over just four days, nearly 800 undocumented immigrants were arrested, including individuals described by the administration as a Colombian murderer, alleged MS-13 and 18th Street gang members, and a Russian national facing manslaughter charges.

“We are in the beginning stages of carrying out the largest deportation campaign in American history,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. “Operation Tidal Wave is a preview of what is to come around this country: large-scale operations that employ our state and local enforcement partners to get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.”

Homan said military facilities, including Fort Bliss in Texas, are being ramped up to house a growing number of detainees awaiting final removal orders, though construction timelines remain fluid.

Homan said he was treating the issue of illegal immigration as an emergency until drug cartels are “wiped off the face of the Earth.”

Among those being targeted for deportation are the approximately 1.4 million individuals who have already been ordered removed but remain in the U.S. illegally.

A CBS News survey taken last week found that 56% of Americans support Trump’s plan to deport illegal immigrants while a separate ABC News survey found 53% disapprove of how the president is handling immigration.

This suggests that, as a specific policy, mass deportations retain significant public backing, even as Americans have growing concerns about the tactics the administration is using to carry out that policy goal.