President Donald Trump has strongly defended the latest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across the country, asserting that federal agents “haven’t gone far enough” in deporting illegal immigrants from the United States.
In a tense exchange during his 60 Minutes interview with CBS News’s Norah O’Donnell, Trump dismissed criticism over recent ICE raids that saw officers using tear gas and breaking car windows in Chicago neighborhoods. “No. I think they haven’t gone far enough, because we’ve been held back by judges by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama,” the president stated.
When asked if he supported those enforcement methods, Trump replied, “Well, yeah, because you have to get the people out.” He emphasized that many of the deportees were “murderers” and “criminals” expelled from their home countries, reaffirming his long-standing campaign promise to remove “the worst of the worst.”
O’Donnell noted that many deported individuals were not violent offenders but rather “landscapers, nannies, construction workers, farmworkers, the families of service members.” Trump countered, “Landscapers who are criminals, yeah,” adding that U.S. policy must begin with enforcing immigration laws uniformly: “You came into the country illegally, you’re going to go out. However, we’re going to work with you, and you’re going to come back into our country legally.”
Since returning to the White House, Trump has expanded ICE operations nationwide, particularly targeting sanctuary cities that limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Cities including Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco have reported a surge in enforcement actions in recent weeks. Homeland Security officials have described the agency’s presence as “everywhere.”
Critics across several Democratic-led states have condemned the escalated raids. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker denounced the federal operations as unnecessary and politically motivated.
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie warned the deployments could lead to “chaos and violence,” saying in a video statement that “aggressive enforcement tactics instill fear so people don’t feel safe going about their daily lives.”
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