ICE raids to crackdown on illegal immigrants who have been served deportation orders have officially started in cities across the US, according to reports.
One official told Fox News the nationwide targeting began late Saturday and into the early morning hours on Sunday in 'a number of jurisdictions' including New York City.
Other cities thought to be under the spotlight include Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami with around 2,000 people targeted.
The president said: 'It starts on Sunday and they're going to take people out and they're going to bring them back to their countries or they're going to take criminals out, put them in prison, or put them in prison in the countries they came from.'
Reports of immigration officers apprehending people in the US illegally circulated on social media on Saturday.
POTUS said that agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), would conduct a series of raids on Sunday to deport immigrants with outstanding orders to leave the country.
Trump said the raids would primarily target those with a criminal record, but immigration advocates say the agency is increasingly targeting families who have recently entered the country.
ICE announced they arrested 20 suspected illegal immigrants in San Diego last week, pictured
A man walks in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) van and a bus parked within the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, California on Sunday
: Immigration advocates with the Florida Immigrant Coalition, outside a local supermarket handing out fliers on Saturday in Little Havana in Miami, Florida
Reports of ICE officials serving deportation orders on illegal immigrants circulated on social media as Donald Trump confirmed raids would begin on Sunday. A file image shows ICE officials during a targeted enforcement operation in February 2017
Fliers to be delivered by immigration advocates with the Florida Immigrant Coalition
Acting ICE Director Matt Albence told Fox News: 'We are doing targeted enforcement actions against specific individuals who have had their day in immigration court and have been ordered to be removed by an immigration judge.
'We are merely executing those lawfully issued judge's orders.
'At this point, we have no choice but to go out and execute those lawfully-issued removal orders from an immigration judge.'
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called the raids 'brutal', saying they 'will terrorize children and tear families apart'.
And such is the fear of the raids that some U.S. citizens have reported carrying their passport with them at all times.
David Cruz, communications director for the League of United Latin American Citizens, said: 'I was born in this country. I’m a third-generation Texan. I’ve been carrying a passport since the day he was elected.'
A new quarterly 'Declined Detainer Report' released Sunday ICE also detailed incidences of cases where undocumented immigrants were arrested for crimes such as rape, murder and assault.
Acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection said: 'This is about the rule of law. Those individuals who remain here illegally, especially those who've received due process more than any other nation in the world would provide someone that came here illegally, to including those with final orders, that there are consequences to those that remain here illegally. That's what today is about.
'This is about going after individuals here illegally. Any city, any law enforcement agency that resists, does not cooperate, they're actually putting those cities in higher danger.'
Acting US Citizenship and Immigration Services director Ken Cuccinelli told CNN: 'They're not undocumented. They've got a court order on a piece of paper, federal order, that says they've gotten due process, and (there are) over a million people with removal orders. That's the pool that ICE is drawing from.'
He added: ''This is their job every day. We've got compassionate, loyal ICE agents who are just doing their job. 'It shows you how far we've fallen in that it's become news that they would actually go deport people who have removal orders.'
An American flag flies at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities Miramar, near Miami, Florida, as communities brace for a reported wave of deportation raids across the U.S
New York Mayor Bill De Blasio tweeted that he received reports of attempted but reportedly unsuccessful ICE enforcement actions in Sunset Park and Harlem on Saturday
New York Mayor Bill De Blasio tweeted Saturday that he received reports of attempted but reportedly unsuccessful ICE enforcement actions in Sunset Park and Harlem.
He wrote: '@NYCImmigrants and advocates are connecting with residents and distributing resources door to door.
'Remember: you have rights. Call 311 and say ActionNYC for help.'
Trump and other officials have previously claimed that 'millions' would be deported, but it is thought that such an operation would be logistically difficult.
ICE has obtained court orders for the removal of about one million undocumented migrants, according to a senior administration official, but the initial raids will target some 2,000 across at least 10 cities, the New York Times reported this week.
'They came in illegally,' Trump told reporters at the White House. 'They are going to take people out and they are going to send them back to their country.'
Trump said ICE would focus mainly on people with convictions, including gang members, but also others.
'It starts on Sunday and they're going to take people out and they're going to bring them back to their countries,' Trump added.
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