US Arrests Record Number Of Immigrants In A Single Day

Amid reports of top Trump aides Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem instructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to seek to arrest 3,000 people a day, the department has made the most immigrant arrests in a single day in its history.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained more than 2,200 people on Tuesday, according to a report by the NBC News. The people who have been arrested had been enrolled in ICE's Alternative to Detention (ATD) programme. Under this programme, undocumented immigrants who are not threats to public safety are kept under supervision through ankle monitors, smartphone apps, or other geolocating programs, along with check-ins at ICE facilities.

Immigrants on ATD had been asked to show up at an ICE office, ahead of schedule, through a mass text message. However, when they arrived, they were arrested.

An ICE spokesperson said, “Those arrested had executable final orders of removal by an immigration judge and had not complied with that order.” However, multiple lawyers said that their clients did not have final orders of removal and still got arrested. 

“People are now increasingly afraid and intimidated because of the way that ICE is executing these kinds of enforcement priorities on such a widespread, indiscriminate, and mass scale”, Greg Chen, senior director of government relations said.

Moreover, ICE has drawn in 5,000 employees from other federal law enforcement agencies to increase arrests.

Visas ban for new students:

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation restricting the issuance of foreign student visas at Harvard University, the White House announced. In the executive order, the US president stated that allowing the university to continue hosting foreign students poses a "threat to national security". The move marks Trump's latest effort to prohibit access to the Ivy League school for international students, who make up about a quarter of its student body.

Travel ban on 12 countries

Trump also signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning travel from 12 countries, citing national security concerns. Trump's proclamation fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. In addition to the ban, which takes effect at 12:01 am on Monday (June 9), there will be partial entry restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.