White House says mass deportations will continue after midterm election losses

White House says immigration enforcement will continue after Miller’s promotion

The White House maintained on Sunday that it would not change course on its mass deportation plans after last week’s midterm election defeats. The announcement followed President Donald Trump’s Friday promotion of Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff.

“This administration will not slow down its efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens who terrorise our communities,” the White House said in a statement to the BBC. “There has never been a President stronger on immigration enforcement than President Trump,” said White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sources told CBS that in recent weeks officials have been instructed to aim for about 2,700 arrests of people without legal immigration status per day, up from an earlier daily target of 2,000 arrests of people without legal immigration status.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also said it would forge ahead. “ICE is NOT backing away or slowing down,” a DHS spokesperson told CBS. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to enforce our nation’s laws and remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets.”

Exit polls indicated immigration was the third most important issue for midterm voters, after the economy and the state of democracy. In historically conservative states like Texas, a swing of Latino voters towards Democrats helped seal the party’s landslide congressional majorities.

Multiple US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that the administration attributed its midterm losses to concerns about the economy, affordability and the war with Iran, rather than its immigration enforcement.

Immediately after Tuesday’s results, Vice-President JD Vance had appeared receptive to adjusting the administration’s immigration strategy. “I’m open to the idea that we should change enforcement - by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour, for instance,” Vance wrote in a lengthy online post reflecting on the results.

The White House’s posture appears to have shifted after Trump promoted Stephen Miller to White House chief of staff on Friday. Miller has been widely associated with shaping the administration’s immigration policy during Trump’s first and second presidencies. BBC reporting characterized the appointment as indicating continuity in the administration’s border-security position and said the posture appeared to have hardened since the promotion.

Enforcement sweeps this year spurred anti-ICE demonstrations in cities including Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. In Minneapolis, two US protesters, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by immigration agents.