President Donald Trump has said that he is delaying planned enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to remove thousands of illegal immigrants who have court orders for deportation.



'At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!' Trump said in a tweet on Saturday afternoon.



At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019

Enforcement raids had been scheduled to begin at dawn on Sunday in at least 10 major cities, drawing furious protests from local Democrat officials who vowed to fight the deportations.



Trump had been adamant that the raids would go forward as recently as Saturday morning, and his stunning reversal on the ICE raids comes amid a tumultuous week in which it was revealed that he pulled back on a planned strike against Iran at the last minute after learning the casualty projections.

Next week ICE will begin the process of removing the millions of illegal aliens who have illicitly found their way into the United States. They will be removed as fast as they come in. Mexico, using their strong immigration laws, is doing a very good job of stopping people....... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 18, 2019

McAleenan warned that arresting migrants in their homes and at work sites risks separating children from their parents in cases where the children are at day care, summer camp or friend’s houses and not present for the raids https://t.co/RkxW3xm5m4 — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 21, 2019

Acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan has been urging ICE, an agency within his department, to conduct a narrower, more targeted operation that would seek to detain a group of about 150 families that were provided with attorneys but dropped out of the legal process and absconded.



McAleenan has warned that an indiscriminate operation to arrest migrants in their homes and at work sites risks separating children from their parents in cases where the children are at day care, summer camp or friend’s houses.



[...] Officials say McAleenan does not oppose ICE interior enforcement against families with deportation orders, but he wants a more limited approach that averts a repeat of “zero tolerance.”

On Saturday morning's Fox and Friends, Tom Homan went off on acting DHS Sec. Kevin McAleenan accusing him of resisting the ICE raids and alluded that he leaked the information about the raids to The Washington Post pic.twitter.com/ICkQXkGe73 — Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) June 22, 2019

DHS Frees 3.5K Illegal Aliens into U.S. in One Week; 208K Released in Six Months https://t.co/EPALrjjuJz via @BreitbartNews @JxhnBinder — FAIR (@FAIRImmigration) June 22, 2019

At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019

There are 1.7 million ppl who have final orders of deportation. They’ve already had their day in court. If Trump won’t deport them, he won’t deport anyone. https://t.co/xzKeZO1eOG — Ryan James Girdusky (@RyanGirdusky) June 22, 2019

However, two senior administration officials told BuzzFeed News that those within the administration believe acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan, or his staff, leaked operational details and that is what ultimately put the ICE operation in jeopardy.



"Leaking the locations and details to stop the operation from happening not only harmed operational integrity, but it put the safety and well-being of his own officers in jeopardy," said one senior administration official. "The ICE mission is enforcing the nation's laws and ensuring those who are unlawfully present in the country are removed if ordered by a judge; this will leave an un-erasable mark on his tenure."