The Trump administration is not expected to scale back its crackdown on illegal immigration in the wake of the midterm elections, multiple U.S. officials told CBS News, citing the elevation of Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff.
Republicans suffered steep losses across the country on Election Day, including in some historically Republican areas. Immigration ranked among the top issues for Texas Latinos, alongside the economy, and those voters swung heavily toward Democrats. Nationwide, 58% of voters said the administration's deportation crackdown had "gone too far."
In January, Democratic lawmakers will take control of both chambers of Congress and gain sweeping powers to investigate the administration's immigration crackdown and its most controversial policies.
Still, officials at the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have received no instructions to reduce immigration enforcement since the election, according to the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
In recent weeks, ICE officials have been directed to try to carry out around 19,000 arrests per week, or roughly 2,700 per day, agency sources said, an increase from a previous target of 2,000 daily arrests. That target was set before the midterms.
The U.S. officials pointed to Miller's appointment to the top White House post as a clear indication the administration is likely to continue ICE's deportation blitz, along with its quieter but far-reaching campaign to sharply restrict legal immigration. Asked whether the midterms would usher in a pullback in enforcement, one official responded, "I would count on the opposite."
The sources also said the administration believes the electoral losses last week were driven largely by concerns about the economy, affordability and the war with Iran, not its immigration crackdown. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told CBS News: "This administration will not slow down its efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens who terrorize our communities. There has never been a President stronger on immigration enforcement than President Trump." Bis cited efforts to bolster security at the U.S.-Mexico border, where illegal crossings have fallen to historically low levels after reaching record highs under former President Joe Biden.
Miller has been viewed as a loyal figure in President Trump's inner circle for a decade, dating to the 2016 campaign, and has become the chief architect of Mr. Trump's hardline immigration policies. He was a top aide during the first administration, when officials banned immigration and travel from Muslim-majority countries and separated thousands of migrant children from their parents under a "zero tolerance" policy that was abandoned after massive public uproar.
Since Mr. Trump's return to the White House, Miller has greatly expanded his power over federal immigration policymaking. In less than two years as deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, the administration has effectively closed the U.S. asylum system, shut down refugee admissions with an exception for White South Africans, tightened access to legal immigration benefits like green cards, and carried out highly visible ICE and Border Patrol arrest operations. Those operations have often triggered widespread community backlash, including in January, when federal immigration officials killed two American citizens during a crackdown in Minneapolis that was scaled back after bipartisan outcry.
Miller has also publicly floated suspending habeas corpus, the right of people to challenge unlawful detention, for ICE detainees. Habeas cases have skyrocketed over the past two years as the administration has narrowed other avenues for release from ICE detention. He has additionally played an influential role in the administration's crackdown on universities and legal groups, and in its campaign of investigations in Democratic-led states like Minnesota.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, an immigration official at DHS during the Obama and Bush administrations, said the deportation efforts are likely to face obstacles next year. She expects congressional Democrats to issue subpoenas, hold oversight hearings and pass measures to limit immigration enforcement funds, and predicts that communities and states with newly elected Democratic leaders, like Texas, may scrap or limit policies requiring local law enforcement to work with ICE. Last week, Houston's mayor said he would direct local police to limit their cooperation with the agency. But Cardinal Brown stressed that Mr. Trump will likely veto any Democratic attempts to restrict ICE, noting the agency received $75 billion in funds through 2029 under the "One Big Beautiful Bill" signed into law last year. "They're going to continue apace," she said. "They have the money. They have the resources."
