U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement nearly matched all of last year’s arrests in the first 50 days of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement effort, the Department of Homeland Security said.

ICE agents made 32,809 enforcement arrests in Trump’s first 50 days. Nearly half were convicted criminals. DHS said about a third have pending criminal charges.

ICE made 33,242 at-large arrests in all of fiscal year 2024.

Trump’s “border czar,” Tom Homan, previously said officials are going after illegally present immigrants with criminal backgrounds first.

But Homan has said any immigrant who isn’t authorized to be in the country could be arrested and deported.

ICE arrested 1,155 criminal gang members in Trump’s first 50 days. DHS said that’s almost two and a half times the number arrested during the same period a year ago. Nearly 40 known or suspected terrorists were arrested.

The National Sheriffs’ Association president applauded the increased effort on Friday.

“We as sheriffs think it’s long overdue,” said Sheriff Kieran Donahue of Canyon County, Idaho, who also serves as NSA president.

Donahue, visiting Washington, D.C., to meet with government officials, said he’s been traveling a lot since Trump returned to the White House and has seen excitement from most sheriffs about the more enforcement-based approach to immigration.

“The numbers are huge, and it shows what can be done if we as a country have the will to do the right thing,” Donahue said.

Ernesto Sagás, an expert in politics and U.S. immigration policies who teaches at Colorado State University, recently said the Trump administration is making “a PR blitz” out of immigration arrests, and it’s working as a deterrent to new border crossings.

Trump campaigned on tougher border security and immigration policies. True to his campaign promises, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border on the first day of his administration.

Customs and Border Protection have announced a 94% drop in southern border encounters with migrants who crossed illegally this February compared to last February. Border Patrol registered about 8,300 southwest border encounters last month compared to about 140,000 last February.

CBP said it’s no longer catching and releasing illegal immigrants.

On Friday, ICE announced the deportation of a Mexican man who had illegally entered the U.S. at least eight times and had been convicted of numerous criminal offenses while in the U.S., including kidnapping, driving while intoxicated and illegal entry.

And ICE announced the removal of a woman who illegally entered the U.S. at least six times and has more than a dozen criminal convictions, including six for DWI and six for theft or larceny.

In Northern Virginia, ICE and its law enforcement partners arrested more than 200 immigrant offenders during an enhanced operation focused on gangs.

Donahue said there’s “no question” the increased immigration enforcement is making American cities safer. But he said federal authorities will have trouble keeping up the pace.

Criminals now know the Trump administration is serious in its crackdown, “and I think it’ll drive them underground,” Donahue said.

He said enhanced collaboration between local and federal law enforcement officials will help augment ICE. Donahue said there are programs that will let local officers serve as a force multiplier or execute administrative warrants in county jails.

CBP has even launched a new app that encourages immigrants in the country illegally to notify the government of their intent to self-deport.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS News that the new app lets unauthorized immigrants “choose to go home on their own and keep their families united.”

“Remember, they have an option to go home on their own,” she said. “We are giving them that opportunity to do that, and we will help facilitate that. And if they don’t, and they end up coming into our enforcement opportunities that we have in front of us, you know, they may never get the chance to come back.

“So, people need to remember, if they self-deport, they will have an opportunity to come back to this country legally.”

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