President Donald Trump announced on Twitter Saturday that he is cancelling the planned mass Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids set to take place on Sunday, portraying himself as the savior of a crisis of his own making.
“At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!” he tweeted.
At the request of Democrats, I have delayed the Illegal Immigration Removal Process (Deportation) for two weeks to see if the Democrats and Republicans can get together and work out a solution to the Asylum and Loophole problems at the Southern Border. If not, Deportations start!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2019
The raids were slated to take place before dawn on Sunday, but with Trump’s new timeline, they will likely take place during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Known as the “family op,” ICE and Department of Homeland Security agents planned to target up to 2,000 families in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York and San Francisco. The objective was to round up migrants who were previously ordered to be deported.
Numerous city officials had spoken out against the raids. New York Attorney General Letitia James called the plan an “immoral and unconscionable act by a president and an administration hellbent on dividing our country.” And Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed that the city police would not cooperate with ICE agents.