Trump says ICE will start deporting 'millions' of immigrants 'next week,' and that's weird either way

ICE agents take part in raid in Guatemala
(Image credit: John Moore/Getty Images)

In a tweet Monday night, President Trump said that "next week," Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents "will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States." Trump appears to be referring to a real plan "in preparation for months that aims to round up thousands of migrant parents and children in a blitz operation across major U.S. cities," The Washington Post notes, but "publicizing a future law enforcement operation is unheard of at ICE."

"U.S. officials with knowledge of the preparations have said in recent days that the operation was not imminent, and ICE officials said late Monday night that they were not aware that the president planned to divulge their enforcement plans on Twitter," the Post reports. "Executing a large-scale operation of the type under discussion requires hundreds — and perhaps thousands — of U.S. agents and supporting law enforcement personnel, as well as weeks of intelligence gathering and planning," and ICE, busy with the surge of migrants at the border, doesn't appear to have the numbers or the budget to deport "millions" of people.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.