Amid falling public support, the White House recalibrates immigration operations and retires its own signature slogan.
President Donald Trump has privately questioned the scale of his administration’s immigration enforcement, telling senior advisers that operations should target those with criminal records rather than sweeping roundups, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Latin Times, citing the WSJ, reported Thursday that Trump told aides: “We’ve got to focus on the criminals.”
The president’s behind-the-scenes directive marks a notable recalibration of the immigration agenda that defined his return to office. Building on initial media reports, the Latin Times’ Pedro Camacho, synthesizing accounts from the WSJ, Axios, Politico, and others, reports that Trump has now urged his team to dial back highly visible operations that had drawn sustained public backlash. Instead, the administration is being asked to prioritize arrests of people described as “bad guys.”
The shift is not merely rhetorical. Daily arrest figures compiled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement have dropped from more than 1,500 during the administration’s initial high-profile operations to approximately 1,200, the Latin Times reported, citing individuals with knowledge of the data. Large-scale raids in major metropolitan areas have been paused. In their place, officials are pursuing a more surgical approach: coordinating with county jails and conducting smaller-scale workplace enforcement actions.
Public opinion as a driving force
The recalibration appears to be largely driven by polling data. For example, a Washington Post/ABC News survey in February found that 58 percent of respondents believed the deportation campaign had overreached. The Latin Times called this central to the administration’s reassessment. Since the president has long viewed public opinion as a political barometer, these numbers have particular influence.
The political anxiety extends beyond the White House. As the Latin Times detailed, Republican congressional leaders have moved to distance themselves from the phrase “mass deportation,” a term that once served as an applause line at party rallies. During a closed-door legislative retreat, Deputy White House Chief of Staff James Blair counseled lawmakers to emphasize removing violent offenders when discussing immigration, a message first reported by Axios and cited in the Latin Times account.
The language shift is evident in administrative communications. Politico found official social media accounts have greatly reduced use of “mass deportation,” though they still highlight arrests of those accused of serious crimes. Republican strategist Kevin Madden told Politico that this signals a deliberate move to focus on immigrants with criminal histories, as the Latin Times noted.
Operational fallout and leadership changes
Several episodes accelerated the course correction. Latin Times cited backlash after a high-profile Minneapolis enforcement operation as one trigger. Meanwhile, concerns among Republican strategists that aggressive deportation imagery could become a midterm liability have intensified calls for change.
Personnel changes are significant. Trump replaced Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and her nominated successor, Markwayne Mullin, has signaled plans for less confrontational enforcement, the Latin Times reported.
Despite the shift in tactics, the White House denies a policy reversal.
Spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the WSJ the administration’s immigration agenda is unchanged, and the president’s priority remains removing undocumented immigrants who pose a community danger, as the Latin Times reported.
