Photo courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Democrats were outraged when ICE arrested illegal aliens at courthouses following adverse immigration rulings, claiming these individuals were trying to follow the law. But being present at court or applying for residency does not confer legal status; those without valid permits are still in the country illegally and subject to deportation. Similar outrage followed arrests at homes and workplaces, even though working without authorization is itself illegal, meaning those individuals were committing multiple violations.
More recently, legal marijuana farms employing illegal labor have been raided, with workers deported. Protests have erupted in cities like Portland and Los Angeles, and attacks on ICE agents and facilities have increased, all aimed at protecting illegal aliens, including gang and cartel members.
Meanwhile, these raids have served a dual purpose: cracking down on criminal networks and rescuing victims of human and child trafficking, many of whom are themselves undocumented and subject to removal. In just the first 50 days of the Trump administration, ICE arrested 1,155 criminal gang members, more than double the 483 arrested during the same period the previous year. Notable captures included David Alejandro Orellana-Aleman, a high-ranking MS-13 leader operating in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe; a fugitive on El Salvador’s “Top 100 Most Wanted” list; and Moises Alberto Figueroa-Bonilla, deported four times prior. ICE also arrested 39 known or suspected terrorists, nearly triple the prior year’s count.
Human trafficking operations saw major successes: a nine-day Florida sting led to 255 arrests, with ICE placing 30 detainers; eight trafficking victims were rescued during NBA All-Star weekend in San Francisco; and in Atlanta, ICE dismantled a labor trafficking ring, arresting the business owner and rescuing dozens of victims.
Under Trump, ICE arrests have now exceeded 100,000, with over 2,000 arrests recorded on some days, compared to roughly 300 per day during President Biden’s final year in office. ICE currently holds about 59,000 detainees nationwide, operating at more than 140% of its congressionally approved capacity. Backed by $45 billion in new funding from Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” total immigration enforcement funding has surpassed $160 billion. The result is a dramatic increase in enforcement actions, not just against violent criminals but across a broad range of immigration violations as part of a coordinated mass deportation campaign.
All of these enforcement actions stem from an executive order signed on President Donald Trump’s first day back in office. On January 20, 2025, he issued Executive Order 14159, “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” which declares it the policy of the federal government “to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people.”
The order directs sweeping changes to federal immigration enforcement, including expanded use of expedited removal, allowing deportation without court hearings, and prioritization of criminal prosecutions for immigration-related offenses. It also mandates that all aliens aged 14 and older who remain in the U.S. for more than 30 days must register with the government, with both civil and criminal penalties for failure to comply. This marks a significant expansion of documentation requirements for non-citizens.
Democrats have claimed that Trump’s defense of the border violates the Constitution. However, the executive order explicitly cites “the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act,” making clear that it operates within authority granted by Congress, not through the creation of new powers. The legal foundation rests on Article I, Section 8, Clause 4, which gives Congress the power to establish immigration laws, and Article II, Section 3, which obligates the president to execute those laws.
For more than 130 years, the Supreme Court has upheld federal supremacy in immigration. In U.S. v. Curtiss-Wright Export Corp. (1936), the Court affirmed the federal government’s “very delicate, plenary and exclusive power” in foreign affairs and border matters. More recently, Arizona v. United States (2012) reinforced that federal immigration law preempts conflicting state statutes, because immigration is “a fundamental sovereign attribute exercised by the Government’s political departments.”
Under EO 14159, state and local law enforcement agencies may perform immigration officer duties under 287(g) agreements, while Federal Homeland Security Task Forces are now being established in every state. Federal regulations at 8 CFR § 287.5 authorize immigration officers to execute arrest warrants, patrol the border, and transport immigration violators. The order also penalizes sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to comply with immigration law by withholding federal funds, a move backed by the Supremacy Clause in Article VI, which makes federal immigration law binding nationwide.
Despite criticism from the left, some of whom have labeled these measures “fascism”, these ICE operations are legal, authorized under decades of existing law, and based on Supreme Court precedent. In the first 100 days of 2025 alone, ICE arrested 66,463 individuals and removed 65,682, signaling the rapid and large-scale impact of the new policy.
To support this enforcement effort, Congress approved a record-setting $170 billion in immigration funding for 2025. This includes $45 billion for detention centers, $29.9 billion for ICE operations, $46.5 billion for border wall construction, and $13.5 billion for state and local reimbursements. It is the largest immigration enforcement budget in U.S. history and reflects overwhelming legislative support for the administration’s aggressive crackdown on illegal immigration.
On February 7, 2025, San Francisco and 16 other sanctuary cities sued the Trump administration, trying to block Executive Order 14159. But the courts have consistently upheld the federal government’s authority to enforce immigration law. The Supreme Court’s plenary power doctrine makes it clear: Congress has near-total control over immigration and can delegate enforcement to the executive. And the executive is President Trump, who has decided to secure the border and protect America against invasion.
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