The hunt for illegal immigrants in the United States continues. Donald Trump has ordered to intensify immigration operations in several cities governed by Democrats, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, in an attempt to achieve "the largest mass deportation program in history," as reported by Afp.
The Republican magnate prioritized the deportation of undocumented individuals in his second term, after campaigning against what he described as an "invasion" of criminals into the United States.
"We have to expand efforts to stop and deport illegal foreigners in the largest cities of the United States, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where millions of illegal foreigners live," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network on Sunday.
"These and other similar cities are the core of the Democratic power center," stated the president, referring to a discredited far-right conspiracy theory that irregular migrants vote significantly in U.S. elections.
The recent ICE raids in Los Angeles triggered a series of mostly peaceful protests, although sporadic violent acts have occurred at times.
Trump responded by deploying 4,000 National Guards and 700 Marines against the will of local and state authorities.
California initiated legal measures to regain control of the guards, arguing that the president overstepped his functions. The lawsuit is being processed in a federal court.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on Sunday that the nighttime curfew imposed last week to stop vandalism during the protests would be extended "for a couple more days."
She described the fear and anger that have taken hold of the second-largest city in the United States, with a large Latino population, following the raids against migrants. "People are afraid to leave their homes," she stated. "This is America. You're not supposed to have to show your papers when you go out on the street," she said.
Los Angeles was mostly calm on Sunday, the ninth day of protests, with only a handful of demonstrators marching in front of City Hall before the curfew.
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people protested in several U.S. cities, in a mobilization dubbed 'No Kings' by organizers to "reject authoritarianism, billionaire politics, and the militarization of democracy" in Trump's presidency.
It was the largest protest in the country since the magnate returned to the presidency in January.
However, the president continued his fiery rhetoric against migrants.
In a lengthy message on Truth Social, Trump denounced on Sunday that "every day the brave men and women of ICE are subject to violence, harassment, and even threats from radical Democratic politicians."
But he reiterated his policy: "Nothing will stop us from executing our mission. (...) Officers of ICE are hereby ordered to do everything in their power to achieve the important goal of carrying out the largest mass deportation program in history."
For the president, "radical left Democrats are sick in the head, they hate our country, and they actually want to destroy our cities. And they are doing a good job of it!"
For this reason, among others, he wants ICE and other law enforcement agencies to "focus" on "urban centers, plagued with crime and death."
In a dual stance of his anti-immigrant discourse, Trump seemed to compare migration to the United States with weapons of mass destruction.
He assured that he directed his entire government to "put every possible resource behind this effort, and reverse the tide of Mass Destruction Migration that has turned once idyllic towns into scenes of Third World Dystopia."
"To ICE, FBI, DEA... to the patriots in the Pentagon and the State Department, you have my unwavering support. Now go... and do the job!"