Trump says ICE makes ‘mistakes’ while backlash to deportation tactics grows

WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents sometimes make mistakes, even as he broadly defended his migrant crackdown that has sparked tensions in cities nationwide.

“They’re going to make mistakes. Sometimes, ICE is going to be too rough with somebody or, you know, they deal with rough people, they’re going to make a mistake. Sometimes, it can happen,” the US President said on Jan 20 at the White House.

Mr Trump’s impromptu appearance in the White House press briefing room came amid growing backlash to his deportation agenda.

Street confrontations between officers and residents protesting their Minneapolis enforcement surge have intensified in recent days. The US Justice Department subpoenaed top Minnesota officials in a widening probe over whether they conspired to impede federal operations, according to a person familiar with the matter. 

Earlier on Jan 20, the US President expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s messaging, imploring the US Department of Homeland Security and ICE to “Show the Numbers, Names, and Faces of the violent criminals, and show them NOW”. 

At the lectern, he delivered a meandering 80-minute opening statement that touched on his first-year achievements, his upcoming trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as well as Venezuela and the cost of living, among other topics.

He echoed concerns his message was not resonating with voters, allowing that he might have “bad public relations people”.

To drive home his argument for the need for aggressive immigration enforcement, he held up several photos of migrants in Minnesota whom he accused of being criminals.

“I say to my people all the time, and they’re so busy doing other things, they don’t say it like they should,” Mr Trump told reporters. “I say, ‘Why don’t you talk about that more?’ Because people don’t know.”

Thousands of federal agents have been sent to Minnesota since December, ramping up immigration arrests and clashing with protesters amid an outpouring of opposition to their presence.

The Jan 7 fatal shooting of Ms Renee Good by an ICE officer, and a recent incident where a US citizen was detained in his home at gunpoint without a warrant, have further heightened the hostilities.

The US President called Ms Good’s killing a “tragedy” and suggested her father was a supporter of his. 

“He was all for Trump, loved Trump, and, you know, it’s terrible,” the US President said.

Mr Trump and his advisers have accused demonstrators and local officials of impeding the operations, which they say target dangerous criminals.

In addition to the subpoenas that went to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison, the US Justice Department has threatened to prosecute protesters who disrupted a Sunday church service in St Paul city.

“Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law,” US Attorney-General Pam Bondi said in a social media post. “If state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, this Department of Justice will remain mobilised to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails.”

Mr Walz said in a Jan 20 statement that his state “will not be drawn into political theatre”, calling the US Justice Department probe of him “a partisan distraction”.

Declining support

Polls show public support for Mr Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda is declining.

More than six in 10 Americans said that ICE is too tough when stopping and detaining people, according to a CBS News/YouGov poll released on Jan 18, an increase of 5 percentage points since November. A majority said ICE is making communities less safe and 56 per cent said the Trump administration is prioritising people who are not dangerous criminals for deportation.

The administration has urged a federal judge to reject Minnesota’s request for curbs on the immigration action, citing threats to federal agents. 

The Pentagon has also ordered 1,500 US troops based in Alaska to prepare to deploy to the state, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought volunteers to temporarily transfer to the area. Mr Trump last week threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow him to deploy the military to enforce domestic laws, in response to the unrest in Minnesota.

Separately, Mr Walz has mobilised the state’s National Guard to support local law enforcement and emergency management agencies. BLOOMBERG