The Department of Homeland Security has quietly moved to tone down its immigration enforcement tactics after polls showed it failed to impress the public with its heavy-handed raids.
Massive immigration raids under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s “commander-in-chief” Gregory Bovino will now be more focused, a new report cites unnamed Homeland Security officials. The shift comes after months of massive raids that were billed as targeting “the worst-case scenarios,” but that narrative has been debunked as more and more reports surface of ordinary American citizens being picked up by federal agents.
According to NewsNation, DHS sources said the changes mean agents will now have specific targets, rather than simply joining sweeps in specific areas.
Reports say that a few days ago, 54-year-old Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had a difficult time during a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee. Noem was nicknamed “ICE Barbie” for her on-camera crackdown on immigrants.
“We’re not going to see them necessarily grabbing people off the street,” NewsNation border reporter Ali Bradley told The Hill.
Instead of conducting large-scale “sweeps” like those at places like Home Depot, agents will narrow down specific targets, particularly undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes, the report said.
Less than a week ago, Noem got hurt during a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee, where she was asked whether her immigration department was actually pursuing “worst case scenarios,” as the Department of Homeland Security insisted.
At the same time, public sentiment suggests that the aggressive dragnet-like approach to immigration adopted by Trump, Noem and the Department of Homeland Security is sinking fast.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified before the House Homeland Security Committee during a troubling hearing that preceded the reported policy change. /Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
NewsNation said the Department of Homeland Security’s updated policy does not mean the end of law enforcement activity, including in New Orleans, where the “Catahoula Crisis” resulted in more than 250 arrests in about a week and a goal of 5,000 arrests.
Fox News also reported, citing NewsNation, that traffic jam enforcement will continue, but onlookers are unlikely to see agents rounding up people in an indiscriminate manner that has fueled viral confrontations and street protests.
The timing coincides with dismal numbers on Trump’s immigration programs. The AP-NORC poll was conducted from Dec. 4 to Dec. 12. On August 8, it was found that Trump’s approval rating on immigration was 38%, down from 49% at the end of March.
Another survey released by PRRI last week showed that approval among Americans in border states for Trump’s handling of immigration fell to 33% from 42% in March. YouGov reports that 53% of Americans disapprove of the way ICE handles its work.
El Centro Sector Border Patrol Captain Gregory Bovino stands during a protest outside the ICE facility in Broadview in late September. / Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
Bovino’s Border Patrol “Green Machine” became known for the drama it produced for the camera, but ended up in trouble in court.
During Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago, U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis said the claims of Bovino, 55, and the government were not credible, and after reviewing body camera footage, she accused agents of reckless, brutal tactics that included an aggressive crackdown using gas and attacks on bystanders and reporters.
Plaintiffs and judges have accused DHS and Bovino of fabricating a story that he was hit with a rock before firing tear gas at demonstrators, with DHS refusing to provide unedited drone footage while pushing carefully curated clips online.
In late October, Evanston’s mayor accused agents of forcing a car crash and “beating” bystanders, while the Department of Homeland Security offered a salacious explanation for a fist-filled video of the arrest.
Bovino, a leading public face of the immigration movement, has spearheaded staged photo shoots with masked agents, including at “Bean” in Chicago, prompting artist Anish Kapoor to warn them to stay away.
Norm’s penchant for dressing up for the cameras during ICE raids earned her the nickname “ICE Barbie.” /HomelandSecurity/Handout/Getty Images
Noem made a stunning appearance on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives on Dec. 11, where she faced a tense hearing that was repeatedly disrupted by protesters and dominated by Democratic criticism of the raids, deportations and the administration’s claims of targeting “violent criminals.”
She denied under oath that the Department of Homeland Security deported veterans, telling Rep. Seth Magana, “Sir, we do not deport American citizens or veterans,” before Magana spoke to her live on a tablet about the veterans’ cases.
Protesters also disrupted the hearing with angry chants, and lawmakers pressed Noem over the administration’s raiding tactics, causing her to leave early.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Beast, “We always pursue the worst-case scenarios first. There are no operational changes to announce.”